There’s something about nailing it on your first try that can be both a blessing and a curse, and when Rob McQuaide, the founder of the McQuaide watch brand, released his first watch last year, the Q1, his debut timepiece hit it out of the park.
A bold spec-monster of a dive watch, the Q1 had a lot going for it: a Swiss movement, sapphire crown, 120-click bezel, BGW9 Super-Luminova and a water resistance of a thousand meters more than my perpetually dry self will ever need (with, get this, an exhibition caseback). And all priced at a reasonable £750. Certainly fair for what you were getting, if maybe a tad expensive for a debut brand.
However, the Q1’s superpower was surely what won over the majority of visitors to the McQuaide website and the watch’s original Kickstarter page. While the guilloche dial was a stunner, it was a bit like being the attractive sister of a supermodel because it was the Q1’s Damascus Steel casing that turned heads so quickly and ferociously that they could have called it the V1 Vorhees.
The watch performed well for McQuaide, selling out its original run and even prompting a semi-sequel with the slightly rejigged Q1-B, which is now available to pre-order. An iteration that swaps out that exhibition caseback for a full Damascus Steel version instead, but is otherwise unchanged.
So, with the success of the Q1 behind him, Rob set about making this watch: the C1. And you could have forgiven him for leaning into his previous success. Why reinvent the wheel? Well, look, when you drop something as unique as the Q1 as your first-ever watch, you’re clearly not risk-averse, and that’s demonstrated here with McQuaide’s sophomore effort.
The C in C1 stands for Cosmopolitan. Where the Q stood for ‘Quest’ and signified a watch built for adventure, the C1 is about people, culture and new experiences. This is a dress watch, of sorts. Add a big asterix there in your head, though, because while it qualifies for that categorisation in some ways, it subverts that definition in others.But anyway, let’s save the dessert (namely, the case) for later and start with the dial, a tasty snack in its own right. Made of brass, it has a smoky yellow sunburst fumé effect, similar to the Bulova Jetstar, which gives the watch a classy, ‘70s vintage feel. For those of us old enough to remember when people used to smoke, you can imagine this watch on the wrist attached to a hand holding a cigarette. It’s warm and strikes a balance between subtle and interesting that not many watchmakers have ever managed to achieve.
The hands are the first deviation away from what you might consider the design language of a dress watch. Instead of simple, narrow sick, dauphine or leaf hands, here you get sword hands. And we’re not talking ‘en-garde!’ fencing foils here. These are chunky little gladius ones. We’re not using the proper pluralisation here, but if you want to say ‘gladii’ in your head, that’s fine, Tristan/Rupert/Tarquin (insert typical Fulham FC supporters’ name here).
We’re reviewing a prototype of the final version of the watch (McQuaide are iterating on it during the pre-order period), and so there are going to be some differences. One of which is the seconds hand. This has a colour-matched tip, as will the finished model, but the counterweight (the bottom of the seconds hand) is a claw shape here, but will be more of a rounded teardrop shape on release.
Behind the hands sits a little bit of writing. This review model has the brand name and ‘Automatic’ written in white. But ultimately, the C1 will have it in black instead and will add the circular ‘M’ logo and ‘10 ATM’ also. That’s a good move, I think. The details are barely legible on the prototype, and, unlike with clothes, I want to see a brand name on a dial.
The indices are a mix of applied baton markers and arabics (at 3, 6, 9 and 12). Again, bolder than you might expect on a dress watch, almost dipping into field watch levels of legibility. The eight baton markers give the watch a good balance and consistency. We’ve reviewed a few watches recently that have a mixed-indice layout, and that can start to look tatty. This is better. And they’ve got the space for ample amounts of loom and are outlined with a full-polished finish.
The batons sit higher than the arabics, standing proud of the dial where the numbers are only slightly-raised. If you’ve got an absolutely OCD-ravaged eye for such things, it might bother you. However, we like the quirkiness of it and the mild contrast that it brings. You could go with chunkier arabics, but we’re not sure that’s the move, and these are bold and legible enough not to warrant a change.
This all sits under a double-domed sapphire crystal. The material gives you the high level of scratch resistance that you’d expect at this price point (seriously, what is wrong with you, Seiko?) and the shape (which means it is curved on the top and the bottom of the crystal) gives better viewing angles and eliminates optical distortions. Or in short: it’s good. It’s also treated with multiple layers of anti-reflective coating. These details matter, and McQuaide knows it.
Okay, it’s time. That case. Or to give it its full name, Mr Holy Shit That Case is Amazing Esquire the Second.’
Be it fried chicken or potential romantic partners, people have their preferences, and when it comes to watches, I’m about dials. Give me bold colours, interesting textures and have it manipulate light in a way that will make me think that I’m hunting for Mr. Han at the end of Enter The Dragon (if that’s too old a reference for you, just imagine me thinking of you as Natalie Portman saying ‘you’re going to put in some modern references, right?’).
I’m a dial man, if you will. But that’s only because I hadn’t met the right case. And, oh my, this is that case. This is the Mrs Watch Country of cases. The story here is the Damascus Steel. Technically, that’s a process rather than a proper name. Essentially, you have two types of steel, low and high carbon, that are stacked, heated up to T1000 melting temperatures (hey, at least we’re in the ‘90s with this stuff now) and hammered together. It is then folded, over and over, like a laminated pastry. Mmmmm…. laminated pastry…
That then gives the metal its distinctive rippled pattern. It’s something you tend to see in either much more expensive watches or in limited edition pieces, but McQuaide has made it central to their whole brand. They want to be the Damascus Steel guys, and you can see why. It truly is stunning. Everything in the case is made from it. The circular bezel, the rounded square main part of the case, the softly curved flanks, and the lugs. All Damascus, baby.
It looks superb, and the process of forging the material means that every case is slightly different, a quality that is acknowledged brilliantly by the brand. Each watch will come with a signature card that has the pattern of the steel printed on it. The card being something of a birth certificate for the watch itself. Microbrands are coolest when doing microbrand things. McQuaide has just levelled up the whole game.
They’d be forgiven for resting on their laurels and just letting the steel do the talking, but actually, it’s a cool shape with enough of its own visual interest. The contrast between the bezel and the case shapes complements but is different enough to make your eyes follow their lines, and there is the most subtle of shaping to where the lugs meet the case, a fraction of a millimeter of a raised surface. Details. You’ve got to love ‘em.
The proportions are just right, too. With the case’s slightly squared base, there was a worry that it’d wear larger as all squared watches do, but its very on-trend 39mm diameter makes it a joy to wear even if you’ve got wrists that suggest your father might have been part-Italian Greyhound. The thickness of 12mm is in keeping with other dress watches that we’ve seen, and the lug-to-lug is a mere 46mm and yet the whole thing has a real presence to it.
On the side, you get the screw-down crown, and this is where the watch, once again, eschews a dress watch convention (imagine how posh you’d need to be to go to one of those). The crown measures 7mm, which is surprisingly large for a dress watch. In fact, it’s the largest crown in our entire collection right now (although it’s only fractionally larger than the OGA Emergent that we’re going to review next).
This could go either way for you. Is it too large? Maybe. Is it too large for a dress watch? Probably. Is it made from the same Damascus Steel and therefore needs to be seen? Yes. Is it grippy, satisfying to operate and interesting? Yes. This crown doesn’t need a guard. You need a guard from this crown, sucker. Put us in Team It’s Good. Because it is. Stay strong, Rob. There’s nothing wrong with it. And it’s signed too, because of course it is.
Flipping the watch over (and taking out a monitor and a cup of tea with that crown – jokes!), the Damascian theme (oh shit, Damascian actually is a word) continues. The screwed caseback is made of the same material and has a few details engraved on it. ‘MCQUAIDE C1’, ‘DAMASCUS STEEL’, 10 ATM (otherwise known as 100 meters of water resistance, not that it matters because if you take this in the water, I’ll flush your head down the toilet, you bastard) and, on this model, a numbered reference 000/00/00. Which on retail units will indicate the watch’s number within that series/how many watches were made within that batch/the batch number.
In the middle of the caseback is also an exhibition window. Again, made of sapphire, this gives you a look at the movement, which is a Sellita SW200-1b. We were relieved to see this calibre powering the watch. At this price point, we are used to seeing Miyota 9015s at best. So seeing a Swiss movement, even if it is a fairly standard workhorse, is reassuring. Again, the C1 is a bit of a spec-beast. And while it’s all undecorated, you do get a good view of the components, including the balance wheel, which is good. The rotor is also signed.
The SW200-1b (the ‘b’ simply indicating that this is the no-date version of the ‘a’) is well-regarded in the industry and offers decent precision and reliability. It also has 26 jewels, which provides a little more protection to the delicate gear train than other workhorse movements that have fewer jewels. You also get a satisfying 28,800 BPH sweep. The Sellitas only offer up 38 hours of power reserve, but that’s not going to matter until they pry this off of your cold, dead wrists, now is it?
The movement offers accuracy of accuracy of +/-12 sec/day up to +/- 30 sec/day (the difference being that they are tested in two positions – usually face up and face down), but is then regulated twice. Firstly, by the factory where the watch parts are made and then by Horologium, a UK-based workshop, where the watches are assembled. They’ve actually since been acquired by Studio Underd0g but will be seeing out their existing contract with McQuaide (which includes a two-year warranty on each watch).
McQuaide has also done well in sourcing their straps. These are genuine Italian calf leather, ensuring decent durability and a good finish, but are lined with nubuck (cowhide leather that has been rubbed down to give it a suede-like feel). You also have contrasting embossed stitching and quick-release springbars (although we’re pretty sure we’d be keeping this on the original strap). The only niggle is the unsigned buckle, but that’s getting fixed for the final version. It’s impossible to find any real complaints about this one at all.
The only other change you can expect on the final version is to the lume. It already performs ably, thanks to its white BGW9 Super-Luminova, which is white in daylight but bluey-green at night. However, on this model, the arabics are unlumed. That will be changed on the production model, though. Either way, it certainly performs excellently, as you’d expect with BGW9.
So there you have it. The C1 is a watch that will work for a lot of people. The legibility of the dial makes it a practical choice for anyone who needs to see the time in a hurry. The Swiss-made movement and impressive specs will make any watch-collector happy. Microbrand fans can frankly sell all their AliExpress hauls and consolidate into a UK brand that we believe is truly going places. And, of course, anyone hankering after the Tissot PRX can save a good £300 and get this watch. Especially as the C1 looks much better (thanks in part to not having that awkward integrated strap).
This isn’t just another microbrand watch, and it’s definitely not your grandad’s dress watch. With all that lovely layered steel, this is a hot lasagna of a watch. It gets everything right, and at this price, it feels like we’re where Christopher Ward was before they got the good logo and upped the marketing. If McQuaide keeps putting out watches of this quality, you’ll end up seeing a lot more of them in the future.
Pros:
+ Damascus Steel in your face
+ Sorry, but we love the crown
+ Exhibition caseback
+ Swiss-made movement
+ Very legible
+ Good proportions
Cons:
– If you think the crown is too big, fine. Whatever.
– 38 hour power reserve is a little less than in other automatic movement.
Summary:
The C1 shows that McQuaide’s success with the Q1 was no fluke. At the price point you’ll be lucky to find anything thing else this distinctive and specced-out. When 2026 is over, we’ll be very surprised if this isn’t one of the best three microbrands of the year.
JUST THE FACTS
Availability/Options: The C1 is currently on pre-order and can be ordered at their site for £650. There are four colour schemes (say no to ‘colourway’); Solstice (red), Sunburst (yellow), Evergreen (green) and Midnight (black). The first three can be ordered with a colour-matched strap or a black one. There’s no indication of this being a limited run.
Brand: McQuaide.
Model: C1
Style: Dress
Case Size: 39mm
Movement: Sellita SW200-1b
Material: Damascus Steel
Band Width: 22mm
Band Type: Leather bracelet
Price: £650