Invicta 9937 Review

Invicta Pro Diver 9937:

The main goal with producing the Invicta 9937ob was creating a Rolex Submariner clone that was both high quality and affordable. The Rolex is famed for its design, reliability, and capability. Most poor man’s Rolex submariner offerings are low quality. They look a lot like the sub but are made with cheap materials, and are poorly finished. The 9937 is definitely and exception. 

I have owned one for years, and put it through real work. It has never let me down, and the face of the watch looks brand new. Invicta’s flame fusion crystal which is sapphire and mineral fused together is very reliable. It has proved to behave just as a plain old sapphire. The Cyclops on the face magnifies well. It comes close to Rolex here.

Invicta claims the 9937 can make it to 660ft which is much further than I would ever dive. My watch has seen sinks, showers, and the bottom of pools. I’ve never had a water resistance issue at all. I would go on a real dive with this watch with confidence. The Rolex will go down to 1000ft. 660ft is pretty close considering the cost of each. 

The Invicta uses a 26 jewel Swiss stilleta or a 25 jewel ETA, which is where a lot of your money is going for this watch. It has been keeping time for me very well for years. The Rolex will keep even better time with their in house movement, but in the end who buys any automatic watch for accuracy. A $10 quartz will kill a Rolex time accuracy. both of the swiss movements invicta uses are known to be reliable. 

I was not impressed with the lume on the watch. It does lume pretty bright at first, as any lume will. and it’s nice and consistent. It would be great if it lasted longer. the Rolex lume is very good.

The bracelet has mirror finished inner links and brushed outer, which looks great. This is the one area where I think the Invicta actually beats the Rolex. It has a nice strong milled solid clasp, instead of the stamped metal on the Rolex. a common criticism of invicta watches is their use of soft steel for the bracelet which scratches easy. This has not been an issue in my experience.

Another thing the Invicta has over the Rolex is the nice exhibition case back, that’s also a sapphire crystal. The movement is beautiful and has a nicely decorated rotor.

As far as accuracy to the real sub, from 10 feet away it looks the same. There are some little subtle differences, I think the most notable difference is the dial. The Rolex has bigger markers, and a much bigger “12”. Obviously different logos. The case, crown guard, bezel, and lugs are all pretty close.

The watch dial on the 9937ob reads “Swiss Movement” on the bottom. I interpret as meaning it was not assembled in Switzerland. That would be “Swiss Made”. I have searched around, but cannot find where exactly this watch was made. Some Invctas are made in the USA, some are actually Swiss made, but my bet for this one is China. Have to cut the costs somewhere to hit the street at $300 or less.

Thinks I wish were done better on the 9937: the logo and Invicta lettering could use better finishing. to me they both look cheap upon close inspection. The luminescence could be much longer lasting. Everything else looks and works as it should.

This watch is extremely good for your ~$300. However, it is no magician; it does not beat the much more expensive submariner. If you’re interested in this watch you want a good deal on a classic looking diver that also has the quality. This is a master of that segment.