Invicta 3045 Grand Diver Watch – A High End Piece from Invicta With Some Acceptable Shortcomings (Updated with corrections)

This 3045 Grand Diver is my second watch from the Invicta brand. I chose model 3045 because of the vivid blue colour. It’s bright and the colour really pops out.

Let’s gets the specification of the watch out of the way first. The watch is made out of 316L surgical stainless steel. The diameter is 47 mm minus the crown (adding the crown, the diameter of the watch jumps to 52 mm). Case thickness is 14 mm. Comes with easy to read blue dial with thick Tritnite 5-Minute Indexes and hands. The crystal is “Scratch Resistant Flame Fusion Crystal” (as advertised by Invicta but in reality it is just mineral glass with some chemicals spread over it). There is a date window at the 3 o’clock position and a magnifier is provided. It also has a display case back where you can see the NH35A Miyota 9105 movement in action. The Miyota 9105 movement is hackable with 24 Jewels and operates at 21,600 VPH 28,800 VPH (or 8 hertz). The heavy duty bezel is precise and clicks nicely (120 60-click gradation). The watch is water rated to 300 m.

The design cue for this watch is the famous Rolex Submariner, right down to the shape of the indexes on the dial. However, there are a number of unique design inputs that comes directly from Invicta. The most obvious is the diving helmet logo on the bottom half of the dial as well as on the lug-links. It does look mysterious somewhat like Masonic symbolism. The second unique design input is the second-hand. Having the Invicta logo attached at the end of the second-hand makes it look distinctive – like a small flying bird orbiting the dial.

The third unique design input is the etching of the model name on the side of the watch casing – “Grand Diver”. Unfortunately, for this design input, it’s a negative in my view. Engraving “Grand” on the left of the crown and “Diver” on the right of the crown spoiled the otherwise nice watch.

It gets worst. To ‘balance’ the other side of the watch casing, Invicta’s fourth design input is to etch the “Invicta” brand in that area. Ugly!

For the next production batch, I would appreciate it if Invicta don’t do this. More would be attracted to the watch without these eye-sores!

Just keep it simple. The diving helmet logo (see below) is sufficient to create an identity.

The back of the watch is a screw down transparent case back. The rotor of the NH35A Miyota 9105 automatic movement is decorated tastefully by Invicta.

This model is supposed to be the top end of Invicta’s diving watches. However, one important piece that’s missing is the diver’s extension system. Invicta, is there a reason why it is not included?

Overall, the solid links are well made and the metal bridging linking the two halves of the bracelet are milled pieces instead of stamped sheet metal which are commonly found in Invicta’s Pro Diver series models.

In my particular piece, the assembly of the 2-point safety clasp was poorly perfected. In the photo below, you can see the huge gap between the final safety latch and the main clasp itself. Nevertheless, the Invicta logo and brand on the clasp were nicely put.

This is a large watch and you need to have the wrist size to be able to confidently wear this watch. Below is a photo of the watch on my wrist.

I tried wearing it with official office attire and surprisingly, it can easily go under shirt cuffs. The design of curves on the watch case and the lack of sharp angles minimize the likelihood of it snagging against clothes. I am quite pleased with that.

Overall, a good watch to have and to use on daily basis despite the few shortcomings mentioned earlier.

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