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TimeTechTalk.com > Time Tech Talk > Time Talk > What exactly happened to building quality timepieces? |
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TimeTechTalk.com > Time Tech Talk > Time Talk > What exactly happened to building quality timepieces? |
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| What exactly happened to building quality timepieces? | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Wed Aug 9th, 2006 12:21 pm |
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1st Post |
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e.avery 3T WIS 
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What exactly happened to building quality timepieces? What drives a person to sellout? Prime example is the Invicta that is in the collection that was knocked off by everyone including Invicta. This watch has a hand setting of fully faceted diamonds. It was never marketed to the public over the Internet or the on shopping channels. It is as I understand it from the predragon days of the design work for the Lupah and is a 40mm case. It has a real ETA G10 not a swiss parts movement and the diamonds were all hand inspected before setting. How do you go from building a quality fashion watch to what it finally became? The same thing can be said for most of the watches that are produced by a lot of companies. Simple greed is to easy of an answer to a much more complicated problem E. Avery (S.P.) 
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| Posted: Wed Aug 9th, 2006 12:35 pm |
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2nd Post |
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daanbc 3T WIS 
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Best explanation-SHOW ME THE $$$$$.
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| Posted: Wed Aug 9th, 2006 12:36 pm |
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3rd Post |
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oagaspar Site Founder 
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e.avery wrote: I knew if anyone had one of these Lupahs it would be you Eric...that is a Stunner!!! I still have many of my 1st generation Invictas that I can say were truly well built Compared to what is being pushed today by Invicta ...The Invictas from the 1st Year Productions are of My Favorites ...apparently How much Money could be made became more important than CS/QC some of the newbies have No Idea what we all became addicted to with the Original Invictas and why we are all so upset today  What exactly happened to building quality timepieces?
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| Posted: Wed Aug 9th, 2006 02:22 pm |
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4th Post |
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mcwright Admin 
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I disagree on the point that Invicta watches today are somehow less quality. While that may be true with many of the fashion designs, etc. I find that their current offerings of $100 to $200 Dive style models to be quite good. I doubt many of the original versions had solid end links, upgraded clasps, sapphire crystals, beefier cases, etc. in this price range. I own a few of the new Diver styles and they are quite well built for the money.:)
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| Posted: Wed Aug 9th, 2006 03:12 pm |
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5th Post |
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oagaspar Site Founder
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mcwright wrote: There is a difference Mike as the Originals had better QC and were made in Japan a True Watch manufacturing Country...where today Invictas are made in China..just a production facility ...and there is a Big difference :) I have had both and the 1st gens had no issues when it came to QC and parts falling off like the ones being mass produced today ;) There are also different levels of Sapphire crystals and solid end links...I won't be the one to say I told You so when something Goes bad....4,5,6 years ago You never heard a complaint one about Invicta...today it's all you hear and it's by the newbies buying the new Invictas..low and high end!! as most of us original guys have moved on to greener pastures :) In the past 2 years there have been more CS/QC headaches than ever before and it's the latest Invictaphiles doing the Complaning!...seems every couple years or so a new batch of WIS come along beliveing the product has improved but until I see it ...I won't believe it :P:P..as far as the pro-divers I have one right now that I bought for the bracelet alone a OTV TT Rose Gold Pro-Diver for my original 9939 Swiss Rose Gold and the Watch is DOA...wind it and it unwinds like a buzzer in your hand :P There are much better values in the $100 to $200 range IMHO :D but then the best teacher is experience...Good Luck and enjoy your Invictas maybe there is a Pot of Gold at the end of the Rainbow :) I disagree on the point that Invicta watches today are somehow less quality. While that may be true with many of the fashion designs, etc. I find that their current offerings of $100 to $200 Dive style models to be quite good.
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| Posted: Wed Aug 9th, 2006 03:32 pm |
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6th Post |
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e.avery 3T WIS
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From our experience on the high end versions of all of there watches they went though a cycle, the first and second run of a watch was solid and the quality fell off after that. Once the name was established there was a down turn in everything across the board. The original divers were jobbed out of Japan and were top quality for the price. I am glad to here that the manufacturers in China are building quality product now. This watch and others all sold at near retail and no defects out side the statistical norms. This watch was copied by Invicta in a large number of variations and none matched the quality of the diamonds or setting. They even took the original SubAuqua and made various diff. tooling's over its run and used diff assembly practices that all hurt the quality. Synthetic Sapphire has gotten much cheaper over the years so that it can be used and the solid end links are trend issues and due to China coming on line with the cheaper product. The clasp on the original Solid 18K Ocean Ghost was stamped and I do not believe that it detracted from the sales, in fact all reviews of the watch tended to be in disbelief of the build quality compared to price, even though if rumors are correct, they had to use one of the most exotic ETA movement in order to get Swiss Made on it. I could be wrong though.
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| Posted: Wed Aug 9th, 2006 03:49 pm |
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7th Post |
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mcwright Admin
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>>There is a difference Mike as the Originals had better QC and were made in Japan a True Watch manufacturing Country...where today Invictas are made in China..just a production facility ...and there is a Big difference<< Today lots of watches you might own are made in China. And, many agree China has made vast improvements in their quality of late. Better QC would be a point I wouldn't disagree with. :) >>There are also different levels of Sapphire crystals and solid end links...<< So? I don't mean to imply the Invicta is selecting the finest componets out there. But, they are sapphire crystals none the less. And, the solid end links are still solid. Given the price of the watch(es), I think it is an improvement. >>I won't be the one to say I told You so when something Goes bad....4,5,6 years ago You never heard a complaint one about Invicta...today it's all you hear and it's by the newbies buying the new Invictas..low and high end!! as most of us original guys have moved on to greener pastures<< Six years ago Invicta didn't sell as many watches as they do today. You sell more of anything and you are bound to have more failures. That said, I would agree that Invicta's rate of failure has been worse than most over the past few years. However, it isn't the increase in failures that is at the core of the problem, it is Invicta's piss poor service. That we can all agree on. >>I won't believe it :P:P..as far as the pro-divers I have one right now that I bought for the bracelet alone a OTV TT Rose Gold Pro-Diver for my original 9939 Swiss Rose Gold and the Watch is DOA...wind it and it unwinds like a buzzer in your hand<< I have had Seiko's go bad, Stuhrling's break, Cosmetic flaws on Swiss brands, DOA Jacques Lemans, DOA Corums, DOA Trias, DOA Poljot's, etc. Invicta is not alone on this score. >>There are much better values in the $100 to $200 range IMHO :D but then the best teacher is experience...Good Luck and enjoy your Invictas maybe there is a Pot of Gold at the end of the Rainbow :)<< Better values? Maybe. But, I have purchased gobs of Invicta divers over the years along with watches from Orient, Seiko, Trias, and others. The Invicta's I have owned have been right there in the hunt (so-to-speak) with the other offerings. And, I can truly say I have never had a failure with the Miyota or Swiss movement dive models. Now don't brand me as an Invicta nut/fan/or whatever. I have had some bad experiences with the company and I don't care for their current marketing methods or lousy customer service. I just find some of what the company makes and sells to be a value.
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| Posted: Wed Aug 9th, 2006 03:52 pm |
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8th Post |
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OldeCrow 3T WIS 
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You guys are deluded for thinking that Invicta ever made a good product to begin with. The only difference is most of you know better today than you did back in 2000. Claims of great quality Invicta’s sound as absurd to me as my claims that they "aren’t that bad" sound to many of you. I just don't "get" this brand and I consider myself very lucky that I don't because It's never had the opportunity to disappoint me. I've been watching Invicta only casually since 2000 but its taken until this summer for them to make a watch that I just had to have and thought was worth the risk. One great watch every six years is not very impressive to me. BTW the G10 is a cheap $20.00 chronograph. Invicta could use the ETA 251 series chronograph which is a much better chronograph but it costs twice as much. They were too cheap to use it in 2000 and as far as I know they are still too cheap to use it today. Don't hate me cuz I have an opinion about everything :D I just enjoy quality debates or discussions that challenge ones beliefs. It’s good exercise for your brain to articulate your thoughts persuasively! Last edited on Wed Aug 9th, 2006 03:59 pm by OldeCrow |
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| Posted: Wed Aug 9th, 2006 03:58 pm |
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9th Post |
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oagaspar Site Founder
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e.avery wrote: I can agree whole heartedly as I bought many Invictas past and present and not until I got screwed over a CS issue did I just say No More :P My Invicta 18K Millenium LE is a Absolute Quality Timepiece from the case,Bracelet,Bezel,Dial and Movement and I Love it ... it is a True LE never to be produced again...the Original OG which came after had some differences but is again a Well Made Watch and one I believe is Swiss Made ....your Lupah is a Masterpiece...I have never seen that one before and Eric and me spoke for some time on what was and now is :) I want to try the new Scuba at the lower price and may end up buying one even though I know it has the Gilted ETA and plastic retainer...ask my buddy Glen  Even if Invicta has improved it comes down to the Company itself and the way it is represented...Eyal does not give a crap about his customers...I found this out 1st Hand  From our experience on the high end versions of all of there watches they went though a cycle, the first and second run of a watch was solid and the quality fell off after that. Once the name was established there was a down turn in everything across the board. The original divers were jobbed out of Japan and were top quality for the price. I am glad to here that the manufacturers in China are building quality product now. This watch and others all sold at near retail and no defects out side the statistical norms. This watch was copied by Invicta in a large number of variations and none matched the quality of the diamonds or setting. They even took the original SubAuqua and made various diff. tooling's over its run and used diff assembly practices that all hurt the quality. Synthetic Sapphire has gotten much cheaper over the years so that it can be used and the solid end links are trend issues and due to China coming on line with the cheaper product. The clasp on the original Solid 18K Ocean Ghost was stamped and I do not believe that it detracted from the sales, in fact all reviews of the watch tended to be in disbelief of the build quality compared to price, even though if rumors are correct, they had to use one of the most exotic ETA movement in order to get Swiss Made on it. I could be wrong though.
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| Posted: Wed Aug 9th, 2006 04:10 pm |
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10th Post |
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daanbc 3T WIS
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I own the 9937, have had it about two-three years now. Paid $245.00 for it. The watch is great-but has been to invicta three times for the same thing! Bezel comes unglued in water. I also own the 9669. My friends all own an invicta or two(cheap divers) ALL have had PROBLEMS. Invicta to me stands for poor quality. That is my opinion and conclusion. Who in thier right mind would sell thier watches with crooked name plates?=invicta would.
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| Posted: Wed Aug 9th, 2006 04:18 pm |
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11th Post |
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OldeCrow 3T WIS
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@daanbc I use Scotch 3m Double Stick Tape (the clear unpadded stuff) for my bezels if I expect to get them wet often. It's very sticky doesn't come loose in water or cold temps and it's easier to replace again than glue. This right here is the core of the problem! Whether real or contrived or a little of both, this company will not be able to stand on its reputation until it commits to taking care of its customers post sales! If Invicta customer service was doing the job they should be doing there would be almost no talk about this company at all! O.A. Gaspar wrote:
Last edited on Wed Aug 9th, 2006 04:22 pm by OldeCrow |
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| Posted: Wed Aug 9th, 2006 04:21 pm |
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12th Post |
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mcwright Admin
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>>Who in thier right mind would sell thier watches with crooked name plates?=invicta would.<< Brizo would and has! :D:D:D:D
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