Let’s cut right to the chase: I had a visceral reaction to the anOrdain Model 1’s blue fume dial. It is drop-dead gorgeous, a beautiful example of the increasingly forgotten art of Grand Feu or Vitreous Enamel dial-making. Now, let’s rewind a bit and cover the basics.
Scottish microbrand anOrdain was founded in Glasgow in 2015 by three people, and they have managed to stay fairly small in the years since, assembling a team of artisans whose focus is on Grand Feu enamel dials. Historically they’ve created watches built to order, but are more recently dividing their efforts between batch production runs and R&D for new products. Their motto, “Old Crafts, New Hands,” is a fitting one given their young team’s commitment to preserving the classic art of watchmaking.
Housed within a 38 mm stainless steel case is an ETA 2824-2 individually regulated by the team at anOrdain. They’ve also thoughtfully eliminated the dead date position. It’s a fairly conventional automatic Swiss movement with hacking and hand-winding, and it’s easy to have serviced at a local watchmaker. At 11 mm tall, this watch is a perfect dress watch, easily able to slip beneath a shirt cuff to later pop out and impress. Water resistance is only 50 m, but a dive watch this ain’t. Take care of it. Finally, a gently domed sapphire crystal has 6 layers of AR coating. It’s all there to play off the dial.
Every detail on this watch works in service of highlighting that incredible dial and the whole piece is better for it. That doesn’t mean the details themselves aren’t beautiful. It’s easy to be dazzled by that deep, textured surface and miss out on some of them.
The numerals, for instance, are a proprietary typeface dreamt up by one of the founding team members, alluding to typefaces found on antique maps of the Scottish Highlands. The unique syringe hands are elegant, heat-treated to what anOrdain calls a straw finish. On this watch, they are a warm golden hue that matches the dial text and hour markers. The case is a simple, clean affair with some beautiful flourishes, like blade-shaped lugs and little arrowhead-shaped cutouts where the inside edge of the lug meets the case. Even the crown is delightfully minimalistic, peeking out from between a lip of crown guards and signed with the anOrdain logo. It’s all well-executed, cohesive, and exudes personality.
Even the unboxing is a delightful affair. After opening the unadorned, recyclable cardboard shipping box (bonus points for the minimal packaging!) I was greeted with a gorgeous black and gold booklet that detailed the history of the company, the operation and design of the watch, and even included spotlights on the team of Glaswegian artisans. Beneath that was a very kind, handwritten note of thanks. In fact, upon opening the flap I found the initials of the person who enameled the dial by hand as well as those of the person who assembled and regulated the watch. I’m forever grateful to MD and CC for their beautiful work!
Finally, the watch was held in a gray leather two-watch travel case that I could actually see myself using. anOrdain offers a wealth of 18mm strap options in different lengths, as well as a Staib Milanese mesh. My watch came on a rich, brown leather strap and also shipped with a burgundy Russian hatch strap, as well as a blue suede strap. All three are wonderfully made, supple, and capped with a custom, engraved loop buckle. My only gripe is with myself, for choosing the shortest strap length. I have fairly slender wrists at 6.5” but I could have stood to choose a size up. I’m particularly taken with the Russian hatch strap, which, in addition to its fun texture has a deep burgundy, almost purple color that really complements the dial.
The attention to detail goes beyond the watch to the process of ordering. Once my order was in, I received an email asking which wrist I would wear the watch on, as well as how I would store it. Finally, I was asked for my preference for caseback engraving. Listen up, I am an absolute sucker for an engraved caseback, and I jumped at the chance to have a map of Scotland engraved. I don’t have any special connection to Scotland beyond a love of good Scotch, but I thought it would be a nice way to honor the artisans who designed and made this watch. It does not disappoint!
anOrdain provides quite a bit of educational content on their site detailing the process of Grand Feu enamel, and more specifically, the accident-turned-inspired method by which they achieve their unique fumé dials. If you’re even remotely interested, it’s worth visiting their site to learn more. The movie trailer version is this: stamped sheets of pure silver are coated front and back with powdered enamel which is then fired in a kiln at 800 Celsius over and over until just the right balance of color and texture is reached. The risk of destroying the dial during this process is high, requiring quite a bit of time and care to get it just right.
And oh, have they gotten it right. I’ve never seen anything quite like this dial. The texture within that enamel plays with the light in a way that is pure hypnotism. The text is all quite lovely in its own right, but I’m glad they kept it minimal, tucking all of it along the outer edge of the dial to ensure that nothing detracts from that marvelous enamel. That pad-printed text is a warm, golden hue that perfectly matches the hands, and all of it seems to float above the rippled blue like birds gliding over the ocean. It’s hard not to wax poetic when describing this watch. It’s like a conjuring trick, performed by a team of adept sorcerers. Under a macro lens, this dial absolutely comes alive, and the effect is enchanting. I was so intent on cruising around marveling at the details that I nearly forgot to take photos.
A number of other dial options are available though currently on a waitlist. In either their solid or fumé versions, they are all vibrant. My personal favorites are the blue reviewed here, as well as the plum and green fumé. They also offer it in Payne’s Grey, which in a surprise twist, is one of the most beautiful, even when up against the colorful choices.
The Model 1 certainly isn’t cheap at nearly $2500 USD, but consider: for that investment you get a unique, handcrafted work of art to rival the dials of watches multiple times its price. I’m no stranger to buyer’s remorse, but this is not one of those occasions. This is an heirloom, something to pass on to one of my daughters. To learn more about anOrdain and shop their selection, visit https://anordain.com/.
