The past few years of watch-hunting have been uplifting. You realize that things ultimately boil down to three single points:
- The more you pay, the more you get.
- Pay more but get less.
- Get more but pay less.
No brand name. No big-budget marketing. No floral talk. None works in this case after the initial few years. There’s always something good from every brand; waiting to be spotted and picked up. It’s not necessary that a $89 watch would be a bad choice and a $890 watch will be all praises and glory. Both could be great watches in their own little (or big) ways. It’s just that a more expensive watch is just that much better as much that money can bring. It might or might not be the thing that keeps you coming back for more.
A watch that looks and feels as good is – in a wearer’s eye – is like any watch from any other brands, costing maybe many times more. That’s why the Invicta Reserve – with more than a slight difference from the standard line – shot up to limelight; their quality difference is something that you can actually feel. You feel that on the bracelets; in the fit and in the overall finish. It’s far superior to the standard Invicta and many of the Swiss entry-level watches even above its price category.
You won’t know it unless you’ve owned an Invicta Reserve. It’s next to the Pro-Diver in popularity; you’ll even find some Pro Divers too among the Reserve-s. There’s a wide range of choices; very eye-catching and nicely designed large watches, between 50mm and 56mm. Their curvy bezels are unique and bring on the complexity in the sculpted shapes. For the connoisseur, it’s a sophisticated architecture and its high specs that will appeal besides its impressive precision; the chronographs sometimes measuring up to 1/10th of a second. Some are good to go down till 1000 meters!
The Reserve Collection, almost entirely, embraces stainless steel for the case and the bracelet, with rubber/polyurethane and leather oftentimes blending into the mix. The most interesting (arguably) among these are the Venom Reserve; sturdy diving watches measuring 50mm across and 23mm thick and comprising solid stainless steel housings. The higher-priced Venom Reserves get Swiss movements; for example, the ETA 251.233! This chrono caliber is COSC certified (+10 seconds/year) and thermo-compensated and fitted with 27 jewels; the same one forming the base for the Breitling 73.
It is beyond any doubt that the Reserve Venom receives some extremely good craftsmanship that yielded excellent details within great designs. Not conservative by any means and certainly not a watch to go with your suits unless they are funky ones.
Leave a comment below to tell us what you think about Venom.Or, click here to read about the others in its league.
