Invicta Speedway (Rolex Daytona Lookalike) Watches

Invicta 17023 Speedway Daytona Chronograph

The Speedway is one of Invicta’s most popular watches thanks to its low price and design similar to the Rolex Daytona. In fact, it may be the closest homage to the Daytona – and certainly is the most affordable.

There are many versions of the Speedway, with different colors and strap styles – even a plastic version! The most popular configurations seem to be the white dial 9221 and black dial 9223 models. Again, for their similarity to the original steel Daytona (the classic steel bezel models, not ceramic).

Invicta Speedway VS Rolex Daytona:

Just look at the wristshot below of an Invicta Speedway VS a genuine Rolex Daytona 116520. One costs under $100, the other goes for $20-30K.

Invicta Speedway Rolex Daytona Wristshot

Despite having a similar silhouette from a distance, the Speedway has some big differences compared to the real Daytona:

The Speedway has a date at 4:30. The Daytona does not have a date.
Most of the Speedways have a textured (fake guilloche) dial. The Daytona has a smooth dial
The Speedway has Invicta carved into the side of the case. The Daytona does not have Rolex carved in to the side of the case lol.
The Speedway has text on the caseback. The Daytona has no text on the caseback.

Central Chronograph Seconds Hand:

The most obvious difference between the Speedway and the Daytona is the big central seconds hand ticking away!

However, this wasn’t always the case. The original and more desirable Speedway watches had a central chronograph seconds hand. This means that it didn’t move until the stopwatch function was activated by pressing the top button on the side of the case. The central chrono version was powered by the Miyota caliber 0S20 and is now considered to be rare. This movement looks like an automatic from a distance because the running (ticking) seconds hand is small and not as easy to catch.

The watch in this video is the one most watch enthusiasts prefer because it is closer to a Daytona with the stationary central hand (until the chrono is activated). The newer model is obviously a quartz watch with a big ticking seconds hand that can be seen from a distance.

Later on, Invicta switched the movement (without notice to collectors and without updating the model number to reflect the change) to the Seiko Instruments (SII) caliber VD53B – with a running central seconds hand and chronograph subdial seconds hand at 6:00. With this movement, the central seconds hand is constantly ticking.

How to tell the difference between the Seiko and Miyota Speedway?

There aren’t many Miyota powered Speedway watches on the market anymore. These were available over 10 years ago! KeepTheTime has had a few in the shop over the years and sometimes you can score one on eBay, etc.

Apart from opening the watch and getting a look at the movement itself, the main way to tell which caliber the Speedway has is to check the functionality of the central seconds hand. If it is fixed at 12:00 without the chronograph running, then it’s the Miyota. If it is ticking with the chronograph off, it’s the SII.

When Invicta started using the different movement, it doesn’t appear that any noticeable changes were made to the case or dials. By the way, this is a benefit of using quartz! It’s not as easy to pull something like that off with automatics, unless you’re using a clone caliber with the same measurements.

It may be possible for the SII VD53 to be swapped out with a Miyota OS2O, but KeepTheTime hasn’t attempted it yet. If you pull it off, please comment below.

Is there a Speedway Automatic?

Yes, aside from the main Speedway quartz watches, Invicta also released the Speedway as an automatic chrongoraph. It’s not a close copy of the Rolex because of its larger diameter – it looks more like a super-sized Daytona.

Invicta Speedway Vs Rolex Daytona

The watch below is model 0783 with an automatic ETA caliber 2892 with a Dubois Depraz 2021 module.

More Daytona-like Invicta Speedway models:

Since Invicta is using the Speedway name for lots of crazy looking watches now, the list below is focused only on the traditional designs that more closely resemble the original SS Rolex Daytona. For all of the Speedway models, you can check them out on Invicta’s site here.

39.5mm / Quartz / Caliber VD53B