My latest watch review is for the Invicta Men's 1103  Pro Diver Chronograph Black Dial Watch.

Although I don't own as many Invicta watches like a few associates on the WOTD, so far I have only three and all three are working to this day.  In fact, one of my favorites continues to be a Pro Diver 8926C but what caught my attention with this watch is that it's a chronograph with a sporty look with orange and and orange band.  Personally, I have never worn a band with an orange rubber strap before, so I wanted to see how it would look on me (I own G-Shocks of different colors but not orange).

I. WHAT IS INVICTA? WHAT IS A CHRONOGRAPH?
Invicta was founded back in 1837 by Raphael Picard in La Chaux-de-fonds, Switzerland. The Picard family (no relation to Lucien Piccard watches) owned Invicta until it was purchased in 1991 and is now America-based (Florida) and owned by a U.S. investment company.

A chronograph is a watch that does timekeeping and functions as a stopwatch.  The original chronographs were produced back in the 18th century.

II. PACKAGE

Like other Invicta watches, you get the yellow vinyl watch case with instructions via Ronda Startech (I'm guessing they make the chronograph?) and warranty.

III. THE REVIEW

Upon look at the watch, I was quite thrilled with how the watched looked.  49 mm case, flame-fusion black dial window and stainless steel bezel.  Date is on the 4:00 position, clock hands are in orange and chronograph is in black.  Nice orange are featured near the minute marks.  Three buttons on the side, the chronograph start, the crown in the middle to adjust the time and date and the chronograph reset button.  The rubber bracelet is thick orange, clasp uses a buckle.

a.  CHRONOGRAPH

Similar to chronograph watches that I own, the button on the 2:00 position begins the stop watch.  Click it again to stop it and the button on the 4:00 section swings the chronograph (which is the long thinner hand also known as the "center stop-second") back to the starting position at 12:00.  The long thin hand is for chronograph timing (not to be confused as a second hand).

For those who have never used a chronograph, there are three dials on the screen.  On the left hand side (near the 9:00 position), this is the minute counter, so for every minute the long thin hand goes around, it is indicated on that left dial.

The second dial on the right hand side (near the 3:00 position) is known as the second hand.  If you have a regular watch, the long thin hand is typically seconds but since this is a chronograph, the seconds are kept on this dial.

The third dial on the 6:00 position is the hour counter.  So, if you are timing something that is going on for hours, the dial will show how many hours have passed by.

NOTE:  Some chronographs do not have an hour counter.  Some primarily have the usual seconds, the minute counter and a 1/20 second counter.  This one utilizes an hour counter instead of the 1/20 second counter.

There are instructions for the chronograph in English, German, Spanish, French and Italian.

b.  THE WATCH

Keypoints:

- This is a beautiful looking watch.  Love the dial, the black and orange looks great.
- Orange rubber - It actually worked for me.  I wear a lot of black and the orange and black does look good.  But anyone who doesn't care for it can easily switch it for a black Nato or other company's color strap if needed.
- This is a Quartz watch, not an automatic, so it does require batteries if it dies.
- Bezel rotates counter-clockwise.
- Love the arms, orange looks great on the black dial.  Smaller orange arms are featured in the chronograph.
- Watches uses Invicta's Tritnite Night Glow technology.  The rotating bezel numerics glow in the dark but because the arms do not have lume, those who want to tell the time in the dark, will not be able to tell the time unless their is a little lighting to see the orange arms.
- This is not a screwdown crown, so I would not wear this underwater even though it says its safe for 100M.  My wife had an watch with no screwdown crown, that was supposed to be water-proof and condensation built-up in it.  I wouldn't wear this in the shower or have it anywhere near water.
- Caseback is stainless steel with the Invicta logo and Tritnite info.

c.  CHRONOGRAPH TEST

OK, it's time to check the chronograph and compare to my Seiko and Orient chronograph watches.  And the Invicta 1103 kept up with my other two watches perfectly.

JUDGMENT CALL:

I actually love the look of this Invicta 1103 Pro Diver watch and it's so different from my other chronographs which are more elegant than sporty.  This is one is more sporty and the black display with the white numerics and orange highlights, really make the appearance of this watch pretty cool.

While the orange rubber strap may be of concern to some, at first I didn't think I would be into it but similar to how my other colorful G-Shocks were, this one turned out to be cool! Granted, I can see myself experimenting by swapping it with a black Nato strap or even a stainless steel strap.  But it's definitely a cool watch

If there were any negatives, for some, it would be the hands not having any Lume.  You can't tell the time in dark areas.  I love the fact that it uses orange arms but for those who want white luminated arms, this one is not for you.  Obviously it's a watch for timekeeping but it's also a watch created for style and this is one watch, you do not want to depend on if you work in very dark areas.  The bezel numerics are luminated but the bezel does not give you the time.

And of course, the crow is not a screw down crown.  I was pressing like my other screw down watches and I realized this is not a screw down crown which surprises me because this is a Pro Diver watch.  So, do not keep on trying to push and turn it, otherwise you can damage your watch.  I wouldn't wear this during a scuba dive or even the shower.

For the most part, this is a watch that is stylish and definitely for those who wear a lot of black clothing, because the black/orange really compliments each other.

But overall, I knock one star down for my score because it's advertised as a Pro Diver watch without a screw down crown. I would not feel confident with this watch under water or any water without the screwdown crown.  But for looks and for a chronograph, the Invicta 1103 is definitely worth considering!