Are Chase Durer Watches Worth It? An Honest Look

Chase Durer occupies a strange spot in Trend Circuit's case: it is less recognized than Invicta, priced within a few dollars of it on the models we have in stock, and simpler on the dial. Buy one if you want a plain, sturdy field watch and don't care whose name is on the box. Skip it if brand recognition is part of what you're paying for.

Two Models, Listed Twice, at Two Different Prices

Right now Trend Circuit carries exactly two Chase Durer designs, and both happen to be listed twice at different prices. The Chase Durer CDW-0094 is available for $59.49, and the same watch also shows up as a second listing of the CDW-0094 for $54.99. Same 45mm steel case, same army green carbon fiber dial, same everything: just a lower price on the second listing. Buy that one.

The CDW-0099 works the same way. One listing of the CDW-0099 runs $69.49, and a second listing of the CDW-0099 in black stainless steel runs $54.99. Same 48mm case, same black dial. This kind of price gap shows up when overstock arrives in two separate batches, and it's worth checking both links before checkout, because the difference between them is real money on a watch this cheap.

Case Size, Dial, and Movement

The CDW-0094 is the smaller of the two at 45mm, in a steel case with an army green dial finished to look like woven carbon fiber. It reads like a field watch, not a dress piece: flat, matte, no chronograph subdials cluttering the face. The CDW-0099 steps up to 48mm in stainless steel with a black dial, closer to the oversized-case category Invicta built its whole catalog around, minus the skeleton cutouts and two-tone bezels.

Neither watch runs on an automatic movement. Both are quartz, which means no winding, no power reserve to babysit, and a battery swap every couple of years instead of a mainspring that needs regulating. At the prices these two are moving, that's the right tradeoff: automatic movements this cheap are usually the weakest part of the build, not the strongest. A steady quartz movement is the safer engineering bet at this price tier, and it's exactly what both Chase Durer models use.

Where It Falls Short of Invicta

Trend Circuit's case is dominated by Invicta for a reason beyond volume: Invicta's design language is louder. Skeleton dials, colored bezels, chronograph subdials stacked three deep, even at matching prices, an Invicta watch looks like it's trying harder. Chase Durer doesn't do any of that. The CDW-0094 and CDW-0099 are plain by comparison, closer to a military-issue field watch than a jewelry-case centerpiece. If you're buying a watch to be noticed, that's a real downside. If you're buying a watch to wear every day without thinking about it, it's the opposite of a downside.

Resale is the other place this matters. Invicta's name recognition means a used Invicta watch is easier to move on a resale marketplace, even at a steep discount off retail. Chase Durer doesn't carry that same secondhand demand: buy one because you plan to wear it, not because you're treating it as an asset you'll flip later.

Sizing: 45mm vs. 48mm

A 45mm case sits at the upper edge of what most wrists under 7 inches can wear without the lugs overhanging the edge of the wrist. 48mm is a genuinely large case: fine on a wrist over 7.5 inches, top-heavy on anything smaller. If you're between sizes and can only pick one, the CDW-0094 at 45mm is the safer first Chase Durer watch. Save the 48mm CDW-0099 for a wrist that's already comfortable in Invicta's 47mm-and-up pieces.

All four listings are in stock in low single-digit quantities. Check both prices on whichever model you want before buying: the gap between duplicate listings has run several dollars wider than it should, and there's no reason to pay the higher one when the cheaper listing is the identical watch. Neither model comes with a box upgrade or extra strap at the higher price, so the only thing you're paying more for is whichever listing you happened to click first.