The Hippocampus is a crazy name for a watch, but a mythical sea creature is fine by us and you may well like the bright colours of this model, which Italian brand Vertigo has on Kick right now.

Orange, blue and green fume dials really pack a punch and we like the chunky hour markers. They kinda look like pieces of a a mosaic, so it carries on that ancient Greek myths & legends.

The green superlume on the markers, bezel and hands is also impressive. But it isn’t just style, this watch has been built to function well underwater – like 300m under the waves.

Inside there is a Miyoat 9039 calibre auto movement, for total reliability. Steel case, sapphire crystal and a milanese mesh bracelet. It’s 39mm across, so you can wear this everyday, or scuba n swim if you like, as it has 300m water resistance, so that should be no problem at all. Bi-directional inner bezel if you do want to set a dive time, nice extra function.

For the price – $370 on pre-order – this offers real world, underwater watch ability and little touches like the seahorse logo embossed on the caseback add something. Yeah, like an Alfa Romeo Spider or a Ducati Panigale, it has style. And that’s a good thing with Indie watches, be different, stand out from the crowd.

Verdict; lots of dive watch for the money, very stylish too.

Delivery expected July 2022. More here.