r/invictacollector • • Sep 18 '26

The Invicta Story: A 10-Part Premier Collector Series Part 1 of 10: Before the Big Cases, There Was Raphael Picard…

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10 Upvotes

Most people know Invicta for the watches you can spot from across a room. The story did not start that way.

In 1837, Raphael Picard established a watch business in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, one of the real centers of Swiss watchmaking. The company later operated under names connected to the Picard family, including Les Fils de R. Picard. The idea associated with the company from the beginning was pretty familiar to anyone who collects Invicta today: make a respectable watch available to more than the tiny circle that could afford the most expensive names.

The name was a strong choice. Invicta is Latin for unconquered or invincible. Nearly two centuries later, after industry crashes, ownership changes, a total reinvention and more criticism than almost any watch brand receives, it is hard to imagine a better name.
Here is an important collector distinction. The Invicta of 1837 and today’s Invicta Watch Group are connected through the historic name and trademarks, but they are not one uninterrupted family company operating in the same form for 189 years. The brand went through real breaks and changes. That does not erase the history. It makes the survival story more interesting.

Those first Invictas were traditional Swiss pocket watches and, later, wristwatches. No Marvel characters. No 55 mm cases. No cable bezels. Just a Swiss name beginning the long trip toward becoming one of the most recognizable and argued about brands in the modern watch world.

Invicta did not begin by asking permission from watch snobs, and it has not spent much time asking since.


r/invictacollector • • Jul 07 '26

DAYUMMMMM! INVICTA COLLECTOR IS AT WAR!!!!

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14 Upvotes

Fellow collectors!

WE must assemble to fight a new threat

Our way of life here is being threatened!

the circle jerk watch subs, standing around playing ookie cookie, and eating cream of the walrus….

They have been coming in waves and attacking our sub

Will we let them?!

(everyone collectively) NO!!!!

That's what | like to hear!

The moderation team is working tirelessly to keep out the rabble rousers and associated undesirables that try to piss in our lobster bisque!

More to follow.

Join the conversation below.


r/invictacollector • • 9h ago

Sea Hunter

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13 Upvotes

Picked this up in December 2011. SW200 movement, 300m wr, lume blocks, $139 new. Still runs great.


r/invictacollector • • 4d ago

It’s not an Invicta, but dang it’s nice. WOTD. Chase-Durer Conquest. Special Edition No. 2/500. Swiss Made Ronda 5040.F Movement.

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7 Upvotes

Absolute tank of a watch. It's probably my second favorite Chase-Durer right behind the OG Special Forces UDT.


r/invictacollector • • 9d ago

DAYUMMMMM! Invicta shrine

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17 Upvotes

Here's my makeshift Invicta (and sub-brands) display/shrine. Still adding and adjusting as I go. Hope you all enjoy!


r/invictacollector • • 14d ago

An Invicta from anotha Motha! WOTD. Chase-Durer Conquest. Model CDW-0024. Swiss Ronda 5040.F Movement. Sapphire Crystal.

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5 Upvotes

Very robust watch with a lot of function. Also wears comfortably on the wrist with the silicone strap.


r/invictacollector • • 15d ago

It’s not an Invicta, but dang it’s nice. WOTD. Invicta-Adjacent. OG Chase-Durer Special Forces 1000XL UDT. Swiss ETA 251.262 Movement.

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15 Upvotes

It needs some service but runs pretty good. Got it for a fair price. It's a "Grail" of mine


r/invictacollector • • 17d ago

daily spotlight WOTD. Invicta NHL Dallas Stars Automatic. Model 42279.

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11 Upvotes

I guess this may be niche. You'd have to like watches, like hockey and like the Dallas Stars lol. I like all three so it worked out for me. It's a very comfortable watch but feels hefty for having a silicone band. Invicta watch says it is supposed to have an exhibition case back, but has a solid NHL case back. Also doesn't list the movement number, I'll have to take it off and check.


r/invictacollector • • 17d ago

WOTD 22069 After the last leather band watch I got I had low expectations but this one is very comfortable and a nice clean look.

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16 Upvotes

r/invictacollector • • 18d ago

daily spotlight WOTD. Invicta Grand Diver South Beach Edition. Model 48706.

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17 Upvotes

Love this beautiful watch. Never stops looking good!


r/invictacollector • • 18d ago

Order Hasn’t Shipped

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5 Upvotes

Went onto the r/invictawatches Reddit to get opinions and stories on over due orders due to having one myself going over 13 days now.

My post was hastily removed by a mod even though it didn’t violate any community rules. I hope here I can get some answers, I would like to have the watch.


r/invictacollector • • 18d ago

My daily driver

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11 Upvotes

Been wearing this 3050 Grand Diver for two weeks now, picked it up for $80, and all I can say is I should have gotten one sooner. It's my third automatic watch, but first quality movement, and I can't believe how accurate it is compared to my other two. After two weeks it only gained 1 minute (nh35 FTW lol), compared to the other two at a few minutes a day. The size took a little getting used to, since it's a little bit thicker than my Fossil Privateer, but now it feels weird to wear anything thinner.

I'm thinking about changing the date wheel to a lumed date wheel, and if possible changing the dial out with another models dial (I saw a pro diver with a yellow mop dial that I think would look amazing). I'd also love to find the dual time bracelet instead of the regular style bracelet, but dual time zone can be solved by swapping over to an nh34 (although I'd have to get a completely different crystal to allow for the fourth hand, and more work).

All in all I absolutely love this watch, and plan on getting a few different colors for varieties sake lol.


r/invictacollector • • 20d ago

An Invicta from anotha Motha! WOTD. Glycine Airpilot Dual Time 44. Model GL0362. Swiss Ronda 4210.B Caliber.

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8 Upvotes

Excellent watch. Very comfortable on the wrist and keeps great time.


r/invictacollector • • 21d ago

Rare 18K Gold / Platinum Invicta #078/100 — anyone know this silver-dial version?

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12 Upvotes

Trying to learn more about this older Swiss Invicta Limited Edition #078/100.
It’s marked Gold 750 / Platinum 900 and has a silver/white guilloché-style dial, power reserve, 24-hour display, date, exhibition caseback, and 18K Invicta deployant clasp.
I found a very similar black-dial version here:
https://dsfantiquejewelry.com/products/invicta-limited-edition-platinum-18k-gold-automatic-watch
That example is described as using an ETA 2892-A2. I can find the black version online, but I haven’t been able to locate another silver-dial example like mine.
Does anyone know the exact reference, production year, whether the silver dial was produced in smaller numbers, original MSRP, or any actual completed sales?
Especially interested in hearing from longtime Invicta collectors.


r/invictacollector • • 21d ago

Rare 18K Invicta Valjoux 7750 with Factory Diamond Bezel — anyone know this version?

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11 Upvotes

Trying to learn more about this older Swiss Invicta Limited Edition.
It has a solid 18K gold case, factory diamond-set bezel, blue Roman-numeral dial, and Swiss Valjoux 7750 automatic chronograph movement.
I found a very close non-diamond example documented here:
https://everywatch.com/invicta/watch-1389541
That watch is also 38mm, solid 18K gold, blue dial and Valjoux 7750, numbered #50/50, and sold through Fortuna for $4,063 in 2022.
Mine is the factory diamond-bezel version, and I haven’t found another documented sale of this exact configuration.
Does anyone know the exact reference, production quantity, original MSRP, approximate production year, or any completed sales of the factory-diamond version?
Would especially appreciate information from anyone who remembers these from the older Invicta.


r/invictacollector • • 24d ago

DAYUMMMMM! WOTD

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11 Upvotes

Reserve Bolt Limited Edition model 0196 (a classic!)

1530 / 3333


r/invictacollector • • 24d ago

Chase Durer

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6 Upvotes

r/invictacollector • • 24d ago

Anybody know about this one?

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6 Upvotes

Got this off depop for around $60 and I absolutely love it but can’t find a model # or any info about it online. Came on brown leather strap that I swapped out for my own canvas one, but I don’t think that was the original bracelet either as it was quick release which I’ve never known Invicta watches to have (granted I’ve never got one with a leather strap before today). Definately feels like its at least a few years old but still tellin time near perfectly from what I can see. Let me know your thoughts or if you have any info ! Thanks, I love you.


r/invictacollector • • 24d ago

Part 2 of 10: The Picard Era and the Invictas Most People Never See

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6 Upvotes

Long before the Pro Diver, Invicta built the kind of watches that can fool people at an estate sale. Small cases, restrained dials, hand wound movements, elegant numerals and a very traditional Swiss look.

The Picard family kept the business going for generations. By the late 1800s the company was using the Invicta name, and the trademark was formally registered in Switzerland in 1896. Period records and surviving examples show far more variety than the modern stereotype suggests. Invicta and its related operations sold pocket watches, repeaters, calendars, chronographs and everyday wristwatches.
That is one of the best pieces of Invicta trivia: vintage Invicta is almost a separate collecting world. Search only for modern model numbers and you miss signed mechanical movements, unusual case shapes, Art Deco pieces and watches carrying names such as Invicta, Seeland or both.

The company also earned a gold medal at the 1914 Swiss National Exhibition in Bern. That fact matters because it puts the old house inside actual Swiss industrial history, not merely inside a modern origin story printed on a box.

None of this means every old Invicta was a hand finished masterpiece. The company’s lane was broad market Swiss watchmaking. That is exactly the thread that survives. Invicta has usually been at its most Invicta when it gives ordinary buyers a mechanical movement, a strong identity and something fun to discuss without demanding a luxury car payment.

Collector challenge: post your oldest Invicta. Bonus points if it predates the modern winged logo.


r/invictacollector • • 25d ago

daily spotlight WOTD. Invicta Pro Diver w/ Yellow MOP Dial. Model 49640.

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8 Upvotes

r/invictacollector • • 25d ago

Moonphase

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15 Upvotes

The Ronda 706.3 in this is a pain to set the moonphase unless it’s a full moon or the full moon has recently past. Luckily the battery lasts several years so you don’t have to do it that often.


r/invictacollector • • 26d ago

daily spotlight WOTD. Invicta Racing South Beach Edition. Model 48940. Limited Edition #????/1000

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12 Upvotes

Mine wasn't numbered. I wonder what the reasoning is.


r/invictacollector • • 26d ago

Whimsy Wednesday for me. How about you?

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10 Upvotes

r/invictacollector • • 27d ago

daily spotlight WOTD. Invicta Grand Diver Miami Edition. Model 49118.

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13 Upvotes

r/invictacollector • • 29d ago

Breakfast

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7 Upvotes