Turn the Essential Four on its dial and you’ll find a sparsely decorated and highly polished steel caseback with the MQT “three sabre” logo engraved at the center. Various specs are engraved in a circle surrounding the dial, completing the package. It’s simple and looks fine.

Strap

The black crocodile-grain leather strap was somewhat stiff when the Essential first arrived, which I found surprising since the watch arrives clasped around a pillow in its box. Normally straps that arrive in this fashion aren’t stiff at all.

Happily, it loosened up quite quickly during its first wear and became a comfortable companion shortly thereafter.

The straps are the typical leather and buckle variety, though they are thankfully quick-release and easy to change as a result. I’m always happy to see quick-release springbars used as the strap is the most obvious wear item on the watch and will be something that is replaced more often than any other component.

The strap is comfortable, though entirely unremarkable. Given the price point, and considering the use of sapphire and a Swiss-made movement, this isn’t too surprising. It makes sense and feels appropriate. Besides, being unremarkable in this instance is not an inherently bad thing. It fits, and it’s comfortable.

The buckle is rose gold and engraved with the MQT logo. It’s also standard fare, but it helps complete the upscale aesthetic and matches the rest of the watch. No concerns here.

Build Quality

I was convinced that if I was going to find fault in the Essential Four, it’d be here. After all, it’s a Swiss-made watch that sells for under $230. And, in that scenario, the most obvious place to cut corners would be in the details.

Now, to be clear, I’m not a watchmaker. I don’t crack open cases and take out dials to asses. However, I am a photographer and I leverage my 40 and 90mm macro lenses to get a close-up view. Let’s have a look at the dial under substantial magnification.

A few things stand out to me:

There are no blemishes on any of the hands or indices that I can see. Even when adjusting the angle of the light against the dial, the hands and indices are free of scratches, scrapes, and imperfections in the finish.

The indices are properly aligned, as are the two logos.

The printing for Swiss Made and Horlogere Suisse are free of bleeding and have clean lines. It’s good quality.

The cut-out for the date window looks good and is properly aligned.

All very good signs and indicate that the watch was made well.