My first impression when I removed this watch from its padded retainer inside its sturdy yellow spring-hinged box was, "Wow, this thing is really heavy." And it is. On my kitchen scale, it weighs in at five ounces, and it feels more massive than that. My second impression was that it was far more attractive than I expected. I initially thought a rose-gold finish might not be the best choice for a man's watch, but there's no mistaking it--this is a very masculine timepiece. The gleaming finish of the body, the rotating bezel (counterclockwise only) and the multi-link band is a rich, reddish-tinted gold tone overall, with a contrasting, slightly salmon-pink dial. It really is good-looking, and should match any attire very well (for men who care about such things).

Thin plastic shields protect virtually all of the watch from abrasion during shipping--the front and back of the body and both sides of the band, including the clasp. The band is really long, and most buyers will probably have to remove a few links for it to fit properly. Included in the box are a 56-page instruction manual and warranty guide, a two-sided 8-1/2 by 11-inch "quick start" guide and an application for an extended five-year warranty (the basic warranty is one year). The instruction manual covers the whole line of Invicta watches, so it's a bit of a chore to isolate the sections that apply to this model. The "quick start" guide is more specific--it explains the major components and buttons, shows how to set the date and time, and explains how to use the stopwatch.

The two-position crown and two push-buttons access all the functions. Using the crown to set the time and date is straightforward. Using the two push-buttons to operate the stopwatch, which uses two small dials inset onto the main dial (the third small dial is a 24-hour time indicator) is less so, but not any more complicated than other analog or digital watches. As usual, I'll have to refer to the guide on those rare occasions when I might need the stopwatch. There's no way I'll remember the "push button A and then button B and then button A for two seconds..." sequence to control the stopwatch functions.

I personally prefer analog watches to digital, but years ago I had to switch to digital, simply because those were virtually the only types of reasonably priced watches readily available then. The pendulum seems to have swung back the other way lately, with more analog watches on the market, and this Invicta is a very nice one that is sure to attract admiring attention. I haven't had it long enough to know if it keeps accurate time or if it will prove to be reliable, but I have no reason to believe its performance and longevity won't live up to its looks.