This under-the-radar (and affordable) Italian brand has made the perfect retro dive watch
Italian brand Breil has mustered up a combination of style and robust performance with their two Manta dive models
YOU DON’T NEED a passport to enjoy the summer: all you need is a good watch on your wrist, preferably steel, water-resistant, with a sporty feel and a touch of seventies nostalgia.
Which brings us to two affordable new models that recently arrived from Milanese brand Breil, just in time for your holiday. First up we’ve got the Manta Heritage, with an orange dial and an unmistakable vintage feel. On the other, the Manta Seeker Automatic 300, a serious and robust diving watch, designed for those who take the sea very seriously (but don’t compromise on style).
Let’s start with the Heritage. Launched in 1978, that original design is the inspiration behind the new 38mm model – which features a five-link steel bracelet, curved crystal, and a magnifying date window. But the real star is, without a doubt, its orange dial.
A colour that screams “summer” without words, and takes us back to those diving watches that reigned on beaches (and wrists) during the golden years. Orange, after all, has always been the colour of divers: easy to see in the depths and cheerful on the surface. The Manta Heritage is also powered by a reliable and precise TMI VJ42 quartz caliber, which moves the hands and date display discreetly. All this with water resistance up to 200 meters. In short, it’s not just nice to look at: it’s also swimmable.
But if the first model plays on nostalgia, the second – the Manta Seeker Automatic 300 – is a completely different story. Here, the lines become more pronounced, the dial adopts a deep black with two levels, the hands are thicker, and the bezel is more robust.
This is a professional and technical diving watch, powered by a Miyota 8215 automatic movement, beating at 21,600 vibrations per hour. The exposed caseback reveals the mechanical heart of the watch, while the screw-down crown, located at 4 o’clock, reflects the attention paid to comfort and ergonomics.
The choice of a black accordion-style strap with a classic buckle also confirms its “wetsuit” design without sacrificing style: the Seeker has a retro aesthetic and is ready for both everyday use in the city and a snorkelling session in the Aeolian Islands (it’s water-resistant to 300 metres).
You can check out the Manta Heritage here and the Seeker Automatic here.
This story originally appeared on Esquire UK.
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