If you have been looking for an affordable, quality, homage to a Rolex DSSD and/or Tudor Pelagos, well, you don’t have to look further than the Borealis Seafarer. The Borealis’s newest dive model is a combination of a Rolex inspired case and dial, but on a larger scale, with Tudor Style Snowflake hands.
Borealis makes no bones about it that it is a homage, actually, they consider themselves for the most part, a homage company. They also consider themselves an affordable company offering watches with quality components at very competitive prices. The Borealis Seafarer, in my opinion, is their best model to date. Let’s first take a look at the specs.
Case Size: 44mm x 56mm
Screwed down crown
Flat Sapphire Crystal with A/R coating inside
120 clicks unidirectional ceramic bezel with BGW9 lume applied to indexes
Made in Japan Citizen Miyota 9015 Automatic Movement
Automatic Helium Release Valve
316L Stainless Steel Case
Lug Width: 24.00 mm
Water Resistance: 2000 meters
Case height: 17mm
Weight with bracelet and all links: 302 grams
316L Stainless steel bracelet with precision adjustable buckle
Swiss Made BGW9 Superluminova applied to dial, watch hands and ceramic bezel
Screwed Case Back with engraved mermaid
Price $355 USD
Immediately when looking at the specifications, Miyota 9015 automatic movement, sapphire crystal, ceramic lumed bezel, solid stainless steel case and bracelet, all for $355, you get the feeling that this watch is a real bargain. And with these specs, it certainly is . But how does it hold up quality wise? Let’s take a look.
Packaging: Borealis Watch Company states that they use very basic packaging to keep costs down and focus on the watch itself. The packaging is a very small blue box, with the watch wrapped around a vinyl pillow and some foam packing peanuts. This is the second watch I have received from Borealis and both times the watch arrived in perfect condition with no issues. But, do not look for a fancy presentation with their watches, as that is not what they are about.
The solid and chunky 316L stainless steel case measures 44mm wide and 17mm thick, with an overall length of 56mm. That makes for quite a large and heavy watch. As said earlier, the case is modeled after the Rolex DSSD, but a little larger. The lugs are brushed steel, with the crown, crown guards ,bezel edge and sides of the case high polished. The crown is machined with grooves to allow for a good grip, but a little deeper machining of these grooves would give a much better feel. Once you unscrew the crown, it is very solid with little to no play, at least on my example, and setting of the time and winding is very smooth. On the 9 o’clock side of the case you have the helium release valve(HRV), as this watch is rated 2000m water resistant.
Bob
Excellent, helpful review for a watch that appears to be a great value. I’m definitely interested!
Gerard M. Palomo
There is one other big problem with the bracelet. The “micro-adjustable” holes in the clasp are essentially non-functional on the specimen that I have just received. Only the first hole will allow the bracelet to be attached to the clasp. Because there are no half-links in the bracelet, obtaining a perfect fit may be impossible. Using the ratcheting diver-extension as a sizing method is inelegant at best, and since it IS a ratchet mechanism, the extension is locked into place in one direction only: once extended partially, it will pull out no further, but it will in fact push inward and lock at the next-smaller circumference with supreme ease.