At first I was excited to get an Invicta watch, knowing how expensive they are. When I got this in the mail, however, I was disappointed. The watch comes in thick, canary yellow leather box, which smells of glue. Worse, the box came smudged with some specks of dirt, on the white cardboard sleeve and in the crevices of the yellow box itself. That, combined with the smell, made me feel as if I'd bought this from a street vendor selling shady knock-offs. In addition, the watch was already running when it arrived, which made me wonder how long the battery would last.

My husband took one look at the watch and thought it was for him. When I explained it was a woman's watch, he didn't believe me. "No woman's watch has a thick band like that," he said. When he tried it on, however, it hung limply. It was clear that it would have to be taken to a jeweler's to have the links removed and adjusted.

As for the color and shape, it looks garish. It belongs on the wrist of a gambler in Vegas rather than a businesswoman's. I thought the two-tone color scheme would look good with many outfits (silver-rose gold) but the face of the watch makes it look cheap. It's big in the "ghetto-fabulous" style popular these days, but worse, the huge Roman numerals try too hard to impress. The numerals are so big that the numbers for 7,8 and 9 look squeezed, as if the designer had underestimated the spacing.

In the description, it says the watch has diamonds. Where? They are so small that only a tiny twinkling tells you it's there.

What a shame. I have never owned an Invicta watch before, but I have a Raymond Weil. Both are made in Switzerland. Judging by its band alone, you can tell its solidly made. It has a nice heft to it and reminds me of my father's old Omega watch.

This could have been a fantastic watch. Get rid of the huge, garish gold dial, market it to men, and it would be a success. I like the fact that it's water resistant, as well. As it is, I'm letting my husband wear it, though he says he'll only wear it for "special occasions" as its too flashy for everyday use.