Watch Review – McQuaide C1

You C1, you buy it.

Twelve reviews ago, back in April (when did we get prolific?!), we took a look at the prototype of the McQuaide C1, and promptly lost our minds over it. After being wooed by the Tissot PRX in Damascus Steel but being put off by the weirdness of the integrated leather strap and, more importantly, the price (Cameron’s Britain, fam), we decided that owning that wasn’t going to happen until one pops up for a fair price on eBay sometime in the 2030s.

Since then the watch has had its full release, as well as an additional run with an additional strap option from a collaboration with WatchGecko, and while the full production model of the C1 isn’t massively different to the pre-production prototype, we figured we’d take another look that was already our leading contender for the watch of 2026.

Similarly, this review isn’t going to be massively different (consider it the full-production version of the original proto-review) but, in service of making sure that buyers get the same watch that we first reviewed, we were happy to check it out again.

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 fairly 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 buy. 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.

The prototype we reviewed was a variant called the ‘Sunburst’ and had a smoky yellow sunburst fumé effect, similar to the Bulova Jetstar, which gave 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. On a plane, because people used to do that. It’s warm and strikes a balance between subtle and interesting that not many watchmakers have ever managed to achieve. It won’t give you lung cancer either. So that’s a bonus.

After meeting up with the brand at the WatchIt! Watch Fair, we got to see all four variants together. And honestly, all four of them looked great. The deep green hues of the ‘Evergreen’ were incredibly lush, but for us, the two we most wanted to check out were the ‘Solstice’, which is a fiery red and the ‘Midnight ’, which has always been our number one pick because of how it lets the dial take a step back to really show off the case.

The hands are the first deviation away from what you might consider the design language of a dress watch. Instead of simple, narrow stick, 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).

The first change from the prototype is evident with the second hand. The original had a claw-shaped counterbalance, whereas this version has a rounded one. Aside from that, it’s much the same.

On the dial, you get the McQuaide logo and brand name in the top half and ‘10ATM’ and ‘AUTOMATIC’ in the bottom half. The ‘10ATM’ is new. That wasn’t on the prototype and probably doesn’t need to be here, but it’s small enough to not really be an issue. The yellow ‘Sunburst’ variant has all these details in black now, but the other variants stick to the original white text.

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 lume 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 but we’re going to capitalise it because it looks right to us. Not all caps, we’re not MF DOOM. 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 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, the crown 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 and Epoch models that we reviewed previously).

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 Damascene theme (oh shit, Damascene 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 a numbered reference that indicates 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 an 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 spring bars (although we’re pretty sure we’d be keeping this on the original strap). The only niggle previously was the unsigned buckle, but that’s been fixed for the final version. It’s impossible to find any real complaints about this one at all apart from that the stitching can fray a little.

The only other change from the prototype is the lume. It already performed brilliantly, thanks to its white BGW9 Super-Luminova, which is white in daylight but blue-green at night. They’ve also lumed the arabics on the final model, which is a nice upgrade from the original unlumed ones.

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.

 

0.0 out of 5.0 stars0.0

Pros:  

+ Damascus Steel in your face

+ Sorry, but we love the crown (it’s bold, grippy, super-functional and made of Damascus Steel)

+ 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 movements.

– The strap sewing can fray a little.

Summary:

Back in April we were pretty convinced that McQuaide’s C1 was an absolute winner with basically no flaws. So even though the full-production model only makes the most minor of tweaks, it’s fair to say it never really needed any. At this price you get stunning looks, great specs, good proportions and a choice of four attractive colours.

JUST THE FACTS

Availability/Options:  The C1 is currently available on their site for £650.  There are four colour variants (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:  GADA

Case Size: 39mm

Movement:  Sellita SW200-1b

Material:  Damascus Steel

Lug Width:  22mm

Band Type:  Leather strap

Price:  £650