Customer Reviews

Invicta Men's 2877 II Collection Multi-Function Watch

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

***UPDATED Feb 02, 2008***

At first glance, WOW. Unfortunately thats where it also ends.

The problems with the watch begin in the sub-dials. The hands are practically the same color as the main dial and in different types of light they seem to almost disappear, or get lost in the reflecting light off the dial. (Click on the image above to see for yourself about the hands becoming lost on the dials. Even though in the picture the only hand that shows what I'm talking about is the date dial, but in real life all three react in a similar way).

The date dial is only numbered halfway, the rest of the numbers are actually thin little dashes between the numbers. This makes it EXTREMELY hard to read and slightly tricky to set because its hard to tell what number or dash its on. Another thing about the dashes, there is actually NO dash between 31 and 1, so it almost looks like 311, not that you can really tell with how ridiculously small the numbers are. If you wish to see how small the numbers are printed and the missing dash between 31 and 1. Click the "zoom" function. For some reason the upper left of the date dial appears much clearer in the picture than in the rest of the dial, so put your attention there. Even after clicking the zoom just once, look how hard it is to read the magnified dates 27-31, and remember the actual watch dial is smaller than the zoomed image you're looking at! Then zoom in as far as it allows to see the missing dash between 31 and 1.

The bottom sub-dial is also poorly designed. It's also somewhat hard to read because like the date dial, its numbered halfway with thin dashes between the numbers and because of that somewhat tricky to set as well.

On to the third dial. It displays the day, surprisingly this dial is clearly displayed, but needing to know the day isn't that important, that an entire dial needs to be dedicated to it. The dial should have been left out and the other dials made larger.

The last problem with the sub-dials: the buttons that set them. The buttons can't be locked so if they are bumped or pressed by accident, the hand of that dial moves. So the date can get changed several days off what it really is, not mention the time on the lower dial can become hours off. This can happen easily and without knowing. Not to mention that: according to Invicta's manual "DO NOT ACTUATE(press) THE CORRECTORS(buttons) BETWEEN 9PM AND 3AM EASTERN STANDARD TIME. THIS WILL DAMAGE THE MECHANISM. DOING SO WILL VOID ALL WARRANTIES FROM THE MANUFACTURER".

***You might be wondering, "what if I'm in another time-zone"? Well I called Invicta and spoke to Miguel on the issue. He informed me it was somewhat of a misprint, Invicta is located in that timezone, and they only print one manual. Yet, strangely their watches are sold nationwide. The warning not to press the buttons between 9PM-3AM still stands though, for whatever timezone you are in. During the conversation with Miguel, he actually called the 2877, along with the similar models, "a crappy watch", and he WORKS for Invicta.

***Those are HUGE WARNINGS, the buttons can in fact be accidentally pressed. Possibly from putting your hand into your pocket, while sleeping, or general contact in day-to-day wear. Someone might not even know about what time to not press the buttons, or it slips their mind, and they happen to adjust or set the sub-dials. Warranty voided and possibly a broken watch, from the buttons being pressed at "the wrong time". Not to mention the fact, an employee of a watchmaker calls the watch "a crappy watch".

Don't expect to get a "Rolex-Style" sweeping second hand. This watch is powered by a battery, where as an automatic movement never needs a battery. According to the features chart above, it has a "Movement: swiss-quartz" (uses a battery for power). Older style watches used a small second hand above the 6 marker; modern styling placed the second hand with the minute and hour hands, so as the second hand ticks, it "sweeps" across the the dial. The Amazon product description says the watch has a "sweeping second hand"; technically it does, BUT most people think a sweeping hand as one that continually moves in a "sweeping motion"(as found in automatic movements), so the description is slightly misleading.

The main dial may appear to some, to be numbered wrong. In Roman Numerals the number 4 should be IV not IIII, as displayed on this watch. Other watch manufacturers do in fact use IIII on some of their dials as well. There are multiple theories as to why it is done, yet no definitive answer why. Whether someone likes IIII or IV is all personal preference. I find the IIII to be yet another flaw in a poorly designed watch.

***Some other minor problems with the watch are:

-The glowing hands. They don't glow very well or for that long.

-A relatively short battery life. Yes believe it or not, how long a battery lasts in a watch depends on how well the watch is made. A battery in good quality swiss-quartz watch should last roughly 7-10 years. From what I've read, people have needed to change the battery in their 2877 within 3 years. Personally I have yet to need a battery, but the watch is about 1yr old.

-Pullout crown. Screw down crowns provide a tighter and more secure "water seal". Where as a simple pull out drown- featured on this watch, can accidentally become pulled out, negating the water seal. Even though it is rare, it can still happen

***If you ignore the minor issues with the glowing hands, battery life, pullout crown, and take into account the watch has a Swiss Quartz Movt, Sapphire Crystal(lens), and a beautiful case/bracelet desigh. The watch is still a failure, and nowhere the quality of a "TAG" Heuer watch as Mr. Masoud Mohammadi has stated(no offense intended to Mr. Masoud Mohammadi). The 2877 only "looks" like it is of quality. Like buying a fake Rolex, looks do not mean quality.

***What's the point of having a watch with sub-dials you can hardly see/use, and the fact you can BREAK the watch and kill the warranty by using the watch at "the wrong time". Yes, you could not bother to ever set them and just ignore them, but that would be like buying a refrigerator BECAUSE it has a built-in freezer, then NEVER use the freezer.

Don't be fooled by the "suggested retail" price, every site/store/TV shopping channel I've seen this watch, are all around the same price of $120. So your not really saving over $355. With all the flaws in design this watch isn't even worth the $120 selling price and certainly NOT worth the $475+ dollar MSRP. There are other Invicta watches just like this one, but with different colored dials; the 2876, 4242, 4243, and 4244. In the reviews, people said some of the same things- "sub dials are hard to read", "MSRP is a joke", and so on.

DON'T BE FOOLED

I recommend to NOT buy this watch, and hope I provided you with some knowledge of things to look for when buying or picking out watches.

A note on setting the dials- the day dial can only be set by pulling out the crown and turning the hands around and around. 24 hours to advance the day one day(there was no mention of this in the inadequate manual so I mentioned it here).

***A VERY small word of trivial caution- high polished bracelets in general, they allow fine scratches/swirl marks to be more visible(which will ultimately happen to the watch at some point). For that very reason, high polished watches aren't the best for active day to day wear. They are better suited for casual day to day wear or formal occasions. Again, its a matter of personal preference, if you don't/won't mind seeing fine scratches on the bracelet, or it is a low cost watch, then please by all means disregard the last statement.

***Here is a bonus tidbit on battery life in a watch. It can vary 1-2 years(possibly more or less) depending on the following things:

If the crown is left pushed in- The watch sits on the shelf and it ticks away, using up the battery.

If the crown is pulled out- Power to watch is cut, saving the battery life. However the battery will still emit a "microscopic" amount of power from simply being installed, but the amount is so minuscule, it will not change the battery life in measurable terms.

I bought this watch for my Husband on Valentines Day. Very nice looking watch if you don't mind the time always being off. I read all of the time setting warnings and still the watch would not keep time for more then a day. Very poor quality when it comes to how it runs. If your one of those people who don't care about the time and want a bracelet that looks like a watch, this is the one for you. Would not buy this brand ever again. I feel horrible that this beautiful watch that I got for a great deal runs like something out of a cracker jack box. At least he would have had a snack with that.

I bought this watch in November. It stopped working in March, intermittently it would not run. I changed the battery, no luck. I sent it to Invicta in April. I called them today. The ship these overseas for repair! ETA for it to be sent back to me is Late June! Nice watch, unless it stops running! They also charge $20.00 for the pleasure of not having a watch!

I received the product without working properly,it had a mechanical problem with one needle. I sent to do a internal cleaning locally,and now its working.

3/11/10 EDIT: I just opened the back of my watch and have one discovery to share...the ISA Calibre 9238 movement has a "quick adjust" button at the 10 o'clock position, but Invicta's case does not take advantage of it (they could have included another push-button on the watch to utilize this feature, and it is a shame they did not.)

First, I have several Invicta watches, both quartz & automatic, acquired over the last 5 years...I like them for what they are (some more than others): decently-made, affordable & attractive watches suited to watch collectors on a limited budget. [Invicta has been infamous for their almost non-existent customer service, inconsistent quality control, ridiculously-inflated MSRPs, & overly-general manuals, which I have considered along the way, but the positive aspects of the watches themselves have ultimately won me over].
OK...so, taste in watches, as in most things, is subjective; I'm just sharing my opinion, and supporting it with what facts I have:

My watch's case back is imprinted with "SWISS PARTS MOVEMENT 316L ALL STAINLESS STEEL FLAME-FUSION CRYSTAL 50M WATER RESISTANT INVICTA NO. 2877" and the box it comes in includes:
-an "ISA SWISS MOVEMENT Instruction Manual-Calibre 9238" info sheet with specific instructions for setting it, as well as specific battery [Type 371-SR920SW]info
-a yellow sheet warning that changing some settings between 10PM and 6 AM can damage the mainspring and void the warranty
-a Platinum Extended [5 yr] Warranty Application [free with Amazon purchases]

A few comments:
1) This is the first time I have seen a specific instruction sheet included with one of their watches, and I welcome/applaud it. Many customers have publicly asked for this, and it seems as though Invicta has responded to it. The warning on the separate yellow sheet used to be buried in earlier manuals...another welcome change.
2) I searched "ISA" online, and this is from Wikipedia: "ISA is a quartz watch movement manufacturer currently owned by the Chung nam group. The company produces watches in Switzerland and China." So, one can infer that the movement on the 2877 is most likely a hybrid of Swiss components and Chinese assembly.
3) Invicta appears to have made at least one design change: the crystal is now "flame-fusion" instead of sapphire...and I believe the jury is still out on whether this is an improvement or not [sapphire resists scratches better than mineral, while mineral resists breakage better...and "flame-fusion" supposedly offers both]. Amazon's Product Description/Specifications/Features all state "sapphire"...as of this writing...which may have been true previously, but not on my watch.

I like the watch because:
1) It's well built with a highly-polished stainless steel case/bracelet, which rests very nicely on my average-sized wrist; it does NOT have "INVICTA" engraved along the outside, which some people may like, as do I. [I find the engraving works better on their diver watches, but is not as well-suited for dressier watches like the 2877].
2) The graphite-gray dial is quite elegant and understated...and the white Day/Date/24 Hr-"2nd Time Zone" sub-dials have a nice appearance; the size of the numbering is a tad small, but I can read them with my reading glasses ;-).
3) The instructions are well done, easy to follow, and work! A nice change!!

I've had the 4243 Invicta for over 2 years...it is a very similar watch, the main difference being the color [yellow] and the crystal [sapphire]...the rest, including the bracelet, is quite similar...I wear it on weekends, typically, and it has kept excellent time, and still looks new. This graphite-gray version will provide a nice counterpoint to the "sunny" yellow, for when I want an accessory with a more subdued appearance.

I would highly recommend this watch at the sub-$90 price range.

I bought this watch for my son. And the quality is as high as my TAG watch. The watch is beautiful and durable as well. Very elegant. My son loves the watch and it looks even better than the pictures. Very Satisfied.

You can not set the date and GMT being 22:00 and 16:00, under penalty of breaking the mechanism and loss of warranty. How can you prevent someone press the buttons to be thinking about a chronograph? Also the subdials are very small and difficult to spotting day, date and GMT! Sory my bad english. From Brasil.

This is my first watch made by Invicta, I'm more of an Emporio Armani fan. I was attracted to this watch when it came up as an Amazon special at this great price. I've seen Invicta brand on TV and at high end stores but never really liked the large bulky sport style watches. This one is elegant and professional, the polished steel gives a very nice shine along the band. The weight is a little light and the face is a bit small not recommended for any big burly guys, but over all a nice watch for accenting a business suit. I would recommend it for the price I paid, under a $100 but I would rather spend over $400 on a different model watch that was a bit more hefty.

Clasp is good and feels solid/secure.
Face is clear to read the time.
Weekday & dates are small, which is not uncommon so I wouldn't consider that a negative unless you have bad eyesight.

Overall a decent watch for a great price.

I have an Invicta myself, which I love! I bought this one for my partner and it's stunning! Simply beautiful! I can't wait to give it to her for her birthday. Looks and feels VERY high quality. Comes in a super nice gift box too. PERFECT!

I bought this watch as Amazon gave a lovely deal. The watch is very good for formal wear. I wanted something for my office. I didnt like the size of the dial. I am used to wearing big dial watches. The box is good and so does the watch, looks elegant.