Borealis Estoril 300 GMT Lumed Dial Arabic Numbers Date Black Red Bezel Version J

The watch arrived very well packaged. The pouch that the watch came in makes a very welcome change from other microbrands’ cheap plastic or fake leather. Good communication by the seller is always a good sign of a caring company. Onto the watch. Well finished with a combination of fine brushing and polishing. Very clear sapphire crystal. Legibility is good without being exceptional. After wearing it for 3 weeks, the movement has settled down to -2 seconds per day, personally I prefer a watch to run fast rather than slow, but the accuracy is very good either way, very happy and pleasantly surprised, as this is my first Miyota movement! The crown pops out with a solid click and jump, adjusting the date, gmt hand and time is pretty smooth, as is winding the watch. When screwing the crown back in it’s a little reluctant but this normally needs a little time to bed in properly. The bracelet is very comfortable but the quick adjustment at the clasp is stiff and sometimes difficult to move to the right position. This is not major but could be improved upon, also given time it will probably loosen up. The bezel has a very distinct rotation sound, very direct, no backplay and everything lines up perfectly. Better than watches at 4x the price, yes, looking at you Seiko! Onto the dial….I think the brand name could be a little bigger and a sharper font. The model name and GMT are a little small and cursive writing does not help. So bigger font and non cursive writing would, for me, be great. The date and date window along with the hands are very good. My only real concern, being someone that loves good lume is the fact that when you light up the lume, it is super bright but the hands fade first and then you’re left with a dial that has a very faint glow and you can no longer see the hands against the dial so you just can’t tell the time in the dark. I bought the watch because a fully lumed dial appealed to me, but it doesn’t really work. In hindsight a black dial would’ve been a better option. On the whole though I like my watch very much, wear it daily and am pretty happy especially considering the price. Would I recommend it to friends/family/colleagues, absolutely, but rather get a non fully lumed dial. Would I buy another Borealis, absolutely. A good watch with great value! My best wishes and continued success to Borealis and my compatriots in Lisbon.
Muito obrigado!