Bought with some Christmas money to replace a Citizen Eco-Drive solar powered watch that I've had for about 15 years, but had finally given up the ghost (who knew that these actually have a capacitor in them which eventually wears out. Defeats the Eco object really!) In view of this I determined I really wanted a fully mechanical Automatic watch. Looked at loads of reviews of watches both on Amazon and lots of other websites. Seiko kept coming up as highly recommend and this Invictor Grand Diver uses one of their best movements. I like Diver style watches and this has the classic Rolex look but without the price tag! If you are a 'watch snob' then you probably won't be interested but you'll be missing out, the quality and accuracy for a watch of this price is outstanding! It gains no more than about 3.5 minutes a month when worn every day, better (according to some 'watch buff' reviews), than a Rolex. I have an desk job so not much movement during the day, but I do walk a fair bit and am quite active outside of 'office hours' and it's never varied in the 5 months I've had it. I particularly like the 'Cyclops' date magnifier as I've always had problems making out the dates on watches even with my glasses on, particularly when you just glance at them. This is not a problem any longer and I can easily tell the date with just a quick look. I also like the fact that it has a 'hacking' movement, which means the second-hand can be stopped to aid synchronisation when setting the time. Many automatic watches do not seem to offer this feature, even some costing many times more than this one. The glass seems to have shrugged of scratches up till now and I wear it all the time, even when spannering on my motorcycles. Ok, now the potential 'downsides', they aren't for me but these are things that the potential buyer ought to be aware of. As other reviews have said, it's a BIG HEAVY watch. I have 7.25 inch wrists, so not huge by any means, and it still sits well and doesn't look stupidly big, which was something I was a little concerned about. The edges of the case curve nicely to 'wrap' around the wrist, which helps to minimise the scale overall. The watch face itself is exactly what I was hoping for, I wanted a simple, clear design and a size which allowed you to see the time clearly at a glance without tiny minute marks and clutter from useless small dials, perfect. More of a surprise was the weight, it is HEAVY, you wouldn't want to drop this on your bare foot! Now I personally got used to this fairly quickly and after a couple of weeks didn't really pay much attention to it during normal use. I am still reminded of it's weight when I first pick it up each morning though, but I kinda like the sense of wearing something that feels like it could shrug off a nuclear blast! However, if that's not you, then you may struggle with this aspect more than anything. The depth of the case is probably the other thing I was surprised about and is something I notice more than the overall size. It is thick and stands quite a way off the wrist as a result and can catch in things if you're trying to work in confined spaces like on a car or motorcycle. Personally, I just take it off if I know that's going to be the case, but again something to bear in mind. In conclusion, if you are not a 'watch snob', like the style and thought of a big, chunky, extremely well made and accurate timepiece, then do not hesitate and just buy it. It looks even better 'in the flesh' than it does in the pictures and you are very unlikely to be disappointed.
