Saturday, March 16, 2024

Watch Review: Invicta Pro Diver Stainless Steel Quartz Watch

This beautiful watch is an Invicta Pro Diver Stainless Steel Quartz Watch (Model 6981) with "Master of the Oceans" inscribed upon the caseback. It's a big bold watch that really stands out on the wrist.

Invicta Pro Diver Stainless Steel Quartz Watch - Model 6981

WATCH FEATURES


This watch has a uni-directional rotating bezel, an extended calendar window, chronograph functions, and three subdials.  The subdials support the chronograph function and provide the 24-hour time, a 60 second stop watch, and a 60 minute stop watch.  The watch is powered by a Japanese VD53 quartz movement and takes a SR-920SW battery. 

All of the watch features worked as advertised. I initially found the date a little challenging to pick up at a glance, but it provided within a gold-toned box at the 4:30 position on the watch dial.  In my opinion, the chronograph features of the watch would be a little more useful if the subdial at 6 o'clock was graduated in 1 second increments so you could time things down to the second.  Similarly from a functional perspective, I like hashmarks on the first 15 minutes of a rotating bezel.  But, these criticism are mere nits.  This Invicta is a fashion watch.  It's designed to draw attention and it does that very well.   

WATCH DIMENSIONS


The Invicta Pro Diver Model 6981 is an undeniably big watch.  It feels solid and hefty.  The case is 48mm in diameter and 16.8mm thick.  The watch weighs in at 190 grams (6.7 ounces).  It definitely feels like you are making a statement when you put this bad boy on your wrist.  It's a flashy watch to wear when you are going out to a restaurant, bar, or club.
 
The Invicta Pro-Diver (Model 6981) is a big watch

WATCH CONSTRUCTION

This Invicta is constructed of stainless steel and feels very solid.  It has a black silicone band and a mineral crystal.  The watch offers 100 meters of water resistance which makes it suitable for swimming, but not SCUBA diving.  In truth, it's a fashion watch that would look perfectly at home at the yacht club.

Invicta Model 6981

OVERALL IMPRESSION

I really like this watch. It's fun to own. I sometimes wear it out to restaurants or for short jaunts around and about town.  Due to its size and weight, it's not a watch I would chose for all day wear. It simply gets a little heavy. This watch is like a flashy car.  It's not always practical, but it is usually a lot of fun.  As a statement timepiece, it's a good addition to a well-rounded watch collection.  If you'd like to get an Invicta Pro Diver (Model 6981) at a good price, look for it here at Amazon.

To see more photos of this watch, check out my Watch Wearing Wednesday feature.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Watch Wearing Wednesday: Invicta Specialty Men's Watch

Here's a cool watch that I picked up from InvictaStores.com.  It's simply called the Invicta Men's Speciality Stainless Steel Watch.  It's available for a similarly great low price here on Amazon.  

Below is just a quick shot taken while chilling in the car.  From this angle, the sun shows brightly, but also highlights some fingerprint smudging on the crystal.  The watch is a nice size at 45mm in diameter.

Invicta Specialty Men's Watch

The watch is from the Invicta Specialty Collection and can be found at nice discounts on Amazon and on Invictawatches.com.





Monday, March 11, 2024

New Watch Models - Bulova Surveyor Classic Watches

If you like classical men's watches with a minimum of muss, fuss, and artifice, there are some real treats coming your way from some respected watch brands.

Bulova Men's Classic Surveyor Watches

Bulova has recently released a new series of watches for their Men's Classic Collection called Surveyor.  These watches demonstrate an understated class and substance at a price point that is luxurious without being ridiculous.  You can find Men's Bulova Surveyor watches here on Amazon.  The watch that really stood out to me is the Bulova Men's Classic Stainless Steel Watch (Model 96C125).

Bulova Men's Classic Watch (Model 96C125).

This basic watch has a beautiful blue dial, a quartz movement a day window at 12 o'clock, a data window at 3 o'clock, and the beloved Bulova Tuning fork logo.  It also has an excellent price for a dress watch of this caliber. You can find the Bulova Model 96C125 here on Amazon. While the blue dial drew me in, other combinations feature an attractive leather band, or a gold-tone accented case and band.  Other models in the collection feature automatic movements, exposed apertures to show the watches movement, a skeleton watch, and a watch with chronograph subdials.


Saturday, March 9, 2024

Daylight Savings Time Fun for Horologists, Nightmare for Everyone Else

Have you "sprung forward" yet?  At what is now 3:35 a.m., I'm not sure I have much "spring" left.  I just got robbed of an hour's sleep.  We all did.  My state, Georgia, is one of many that have voted to end the practice of Daylight Savings Time, but according to this report on 11alive.com, Congress has to repeal the uniform time act of 1966 for us to actually make the change. On the bright side, as a watch enthusiast, I have an excuse to mess with all my watches now.  

In the photos below, you'll see three watches for past and future blog posts.

Watches from Invicta, Sperry, and Grenen (Skagen)

I've been sleepily setting times on a my Invicta Pro Diver Model 6981, my Sperry Top-Sider Skipper (reviewed here), and a now vintage Grenen watch from Skagen.  I've had the Grenen since 2012 so it's almost vintage now.  You'll see these watches and more on this blog in the coming weeks.






Wristwatch Review: Timex Expedition Gallatin Watch

The watch for today's review is a simple classic:  the Timex Expedition Gallatin Watch.  It's a nice comfortable watch for everyday wear.  As always, Timex provides an excellent watch value for your money. 

The Timex Expedition Gallatin

WATCH DIMENSIONS


It features a 22mm wide silicone strap and a lightweight 44mm diameter resin case that is 11.5mm thick.

WATCH FEATURES


While it has the style of a dive watch, it's only rated for 50 meters of water resistance and the bezel doesn't rotate. Of course, this is a watch you wear for comfort and style. It does have indiglo lighting when you push the crown and it has a little bit of lume on the hour markers and hands. The crystal is acrylic. It's not really a tactical watch, but it looks great (below) on the dieselpunk boardgame battlefield of Scythe from Stonemaier Games.

The Timex Gallatin looks gallant on a boardgame battlefield.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

As an inexpensive watch without a lot of metal, it's also a great watch for travel. If you lose it or damage it, you won't cry for long.  For a fairly low price, you get a great looking watch that is readable, functional, and reliable. I like it. This is a Timex watch I often choose for my everyday expeditions.


The Timex Expedition Gallatin waits for a flight

 

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Watch Wearing Wednesday: Invicta Pro-Diver Stainless Steel Quartz Watch

Sometimes, you just want to wear something substantial and flashy.  On those days, you need look no farther than the Invicta Pro-Diver stainless steel quartz watch. It's a bad dude. The case diameter is 48 millimeters and the case thickness is 16.8 millimeters. That's big!

The Invicta Pro-Diver Stainless Steel Quartz Watch

If you'd like to pick up a watch like this, you'll find them available here on Amazon.

The Invicta Pro-Diver Stainless Steel Quartz Watch Out on the Town

If you'd like to read my full review of this watch, check it out here:

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Replacing Watch Batteries on Timex Expedition and Timex Elevated Classic Watches

I recently revived a couple of my favorite Timex watches.  It was time for long overdue watch battery replacements for my Timex Expedition Vintage Metal watch and my Timex Elevated Classic.  Fortunately, they both used the same battery.

A Timex Expedition Watch with the caseback popped off revealing the battery.

Steps for Replacing a Timex Expedition Watch Battery

The steps in replacing a watch battery for a simple watch like the Timex Expedition are simple and straight forward:

  1. Pop the caseback off.
  2. Remove the dead battery.
  3. Place the new battery in the watch.
  4. Check to make sure the second hand is moving.
  5. Press the caseback back onto the watch.

Timex Expedition Vintage Metal - A Military-Style Watch

What kind of watch battery does a Timex Expedition Vintage Metal watch use?

The venerable CR-2016 watch battery.  Fortunately, it's a relatively large battery, easy to handle, and commonly found in retail stores or on Amazon.

What kind of watch battery does a Timex Elevated Classic watch use?

Also, the CR-2016 watch battery.


What kind of tools do you need to replace a watch battery?

While replacing watch batteries is relatively easy, it really helps to have some specialized tools.  To pop the caseback off, you need a stout little blade to find an indent and use as a lever to pop it off.  Watch repair kits like this one on Amazon, usually have such a blade to make easy work of the job.

Watch Press Case Setback Tool

Another tool that really helps is a Watch Press Case Setback Tool.  It can be easy to pop off a watch caseback, but pressing it back on again without a tool can be an extreme challenge.  

Drawbacks to Replacing Your Own Watch Battery

The biggest problem I find in replacing a watch battery is that you can scratch up the back of the watch trying to pry off the caseback. You also need a special wrench to remove casebacks on diver-style watches.  It can sometimes be difficult to find the right replacement watch battery. If a watch is expensive, you may want to take the watch to a watch repair shop for professional assistance.

For more details, check out this post on how to replace a watch battery.