AnOrdain Watches Review: Handcrafted Enamel Dials From Scotland

In watchmaking, grand feu enameling is easily one of the industry's most unforgiving disciplines. The process sounds straightforward enough: dusting a metal disk with powdered glass and firing it at 800°C. But in reality, this practice requires an awful lot of precision. A single speck of dust, for example, or a microscopic temperature drop will instantly crack the surface, turning hours of intense, meticulous work into scrap. Because the failure rate is so brutal, elite Swiss watch houses have historically kept this craft exclusive to some of their finest timepieces, many of which command five-figure price tags. 

Then came anOrdain - a brand you may associate with this specific dial craft. And before you can ask, they are hardly able to keep up with demand these days leading to some longer waits than one may expect.

Founded in Glasgow in 2015 by architect and designer Lewis Heath, anOrdain introduced a craft atelier on the banks of the River Clyde, bringing together jewelers, typographers, and watchmakers. The idea was simple but ambitious: deliver authentic, hand-fired enamel dials in beautifully proportioned, everyday cases without the impossible price tag. By mixing traditional craftsmanship with fresh, vibrant colors like vivid teal, ice blue, and rich plum, anOrdain began making luxury accessible for beginners and experienced collectors alike.

Because everything is made entirely by hand at anOrdain, production is slow. The immense difficulty of scaling up enamel production means the watchmaker can't quite seem to keep up with demand these days., shifting the brand from a plucky independent newcomer into a manufacturer of almost allocation-only collector's pieces. This raises a big question for watch enthusiasts. When a watch gets this hard to buy, is it worth it? Does this small Scottish workshop actually represent one of the purest, most authentic examples of independent watchmaking today, or is it all hype? To find out, we have to look at what is actually happening inside the brand’s ateliers.

anOrdain is named after Loch an Ordain - a remote, quiet piece of water up in the Scottish Highlands. It’s a fitting name because it tells you exactly what Lewis Heath wanted to do when he founded the company: build something distinctly Scottish that was totally removed from conventional Swiss design. However, Heath didn't set out to build a global watch brand from day one. Rather it all started with his fascination with materials. His interest lay in old 19th-century pocketwatches and how their dials never seemed to age. A modern lacquered dial will degrade, fade, or patina over the decades; enamel dials don’t do any of that. Moreover, any dial fired over a hundred years ago will look exactly the same today as the morning it came out of the kiln. The problem Heath ran into was that nobody in the U.K. was actually making genuine grand feu enamel dials anymore. The craft had become virtually obsolete, monopolized by only a handful of elite Swiss houses. Instead of outsourcing the dials to Switzerland or using much more affordable lacquer dials, Heath decided to build the entire infrastructure from scratch in Scotland.

Between 2015 and 2018, anOrdain basically operated in secret. The brand wasn’t selling a thing initially. In fact, it was failing, over and over, in a tiny workshop in Glasgow's East End. Heath brought in a typographer and a silversmith, and the three of them spent three long, brutal years reverse-engineering the enameling process. It took thousands of hours of trial and error, and countless cracked dials, shattered glass, and kiln failures, just to figure out how to bake enamel powder onto copper without warping or destroying the metal underneath. The legwork paid off in the end because when the Model 1 finally debuted in 2018, collectors and watch enthusiasts immediately warmed to it. Here was this unknown Scottish manufacturer creating watches with genuine, hand-fired enamel dials encased in wearable 38mm dimensions. The real surprise was the price. It was a fraction of what you’d expect to pay for a heritage Swiss brand doing the exact same thing.

The initial launch did well, but the real turning point for the brand was in 2019, when it unveiled its fumé dials with the launch of the Model 2. The industry at the time was flooded with dials whose gradient effects were achieved with spray paint. anOrdain did it properly, using translucent glass over a textured silver base. It gave the manufacturer serious credibility with collectors. This brand was pushing a much-loved craft forward.

By 2023, anOrdain had grown to accommodate 25 workers. It bought out Paulin Watches, another Glaswegian design studio, and by 2024, had moved into a proper, purpose-built facility to handle the scale. The company even got recognized by the Heritage Crafts Association for actually preserving these traditional skills. Even so, the brand hasn’t industrialized this type of dial-making. Instead, every single dial is still hand-sifted, hand-fired, and hand-polished by an actual human being. This level of commitment, of course, has created a massive production bottleneck, which is why you may have to wait years for an anOrdain watch. But for the guys who are willing to wait it out, anOrdain proved a really important point to the industry: you don’t have to be based in the Vallée de Joux to make serious, artisanal watches. Sometimes, you can do it right on the banks of the River Clyde.

anOrdain keeps its catalog pretty simple, sticking to three main models, alongside a few recent experiments with porcelain and textured dials.

The Model 1: The Original Flagship

If you want the clearest example of what anOrdain does, start with the Model 1. It was the brand’s first watch, and it remains its core piece, sitting right between a dress watch and a casual everyday piece. The case curves naturally and comes in three sizes: 35mm, 38mm, and 41mm. If you prefer watches that fit a more slender wrist, the 35mm and 38mm options wear incredibly well.

With the Model 1, you can go in two directions with the dial. The "Core" line features solid, opaque enamel colors that include deep Parisian blue, rich Oxblood, Iron Cream and Teal. Then there’s the "Fumé" line, with those famous smoky gradients such as plum, green, blue, and Payne’s Grey (the latter of which you can see the silver base reflecting light through the translucent glass). The dial features custom map-inspired numbers and skeletonized syringe hands so that you can see the enamel underneath. Around the back, an exhibition caseback shows off a standard, reliable Swiss automatic or manual movement, usually a La Joux-Perret G101 or a Sellita SW210-1. Finally, the Model 1 line offers a Porcelain iteration with a stark white dial and contrasting blue numerals. 

The Model 2: The Field Watch Variant

While the Model 1 is the dressier option, the Model 2 is built for casual wear. This is the brand’s take on a classic field watch, but still made with their artisan dials. It comes in 36mm and 39.5mm sizes, and the steel case is chunkier than the Model 1. It has a brushed finish to hide scratches and integrated crown guards for a tougher, tool-watch look.

The layout is much bolder. The numbers are large and easy to read, and the hands are partially hollowed out and filled with Super-LumiNova for night visibility. But the best part is that it still uses a hand-fired enamel dial in colors like racing green, flax or white. Putting a delicate, kiln-fired glass dial inside a rugged field-watch case creates a great contrast. Meanwhile, the Porcelain option of the collection comes in a classic black dial. 

The Model 3: A Focus on Texture

The Model 3 uses a sleek 39mm case and serves as a home for the brand’s most experimental work. While the Model 1 focuses on smooth gradients, the Model 3 focuses on texture. It launched with what the manufacturer calls "Method" enamel, which uses an engraved metal base underneath translucent enamel. Current models include a light aqua and a lichen green. Because the silver underneath is deeply patterned before the glass layer goes on, light catches it in a very bright, uneven way. The case is deliberately minimal and simple so it doesn't distract from the dial itself.

Porcelain and The Fabrik Series

Recently, anOrdain started branching out into other materials. As aforementioned, it now offers genuine porcelain dials for both the Model 1 and Model 2. Like enamel, porcelain must be baked at extreme heat, but it produces a milky, soft-white finish that looks totally different from polished glass.

There is also the Fabrik series, which skips the kiln entirely to make heavily textured dials that look like paper or fabric. It’s a good reminder that even without the famous enamel, anOrdain’s custom typography and case shapes are strong enough to carry a watch on their own. Whichever model you look at, the core idea is identical: this brand makes wearable, highly original watches that feel and look really well put together.

The case sizes for anOrdain watches stick within the 35mm to 41mm range - proportions that feel like they were designed for real wrists. Take the Model 1 case: the lugs are relatively long and thin, but the total tip-to-tip length is short enough that it sits completely flat on the wrist without any awkward overhang. The finishing is pretty simple too - just a polished bezel and brushed case sides, allowing all the attention to go straight to the enamel. For the caseback, you can get a solid steel one stamped with a map pattern, though most people just pay for the sapphire window to look at the movement.

For the movements, anOrdain uses premium third-party Swiss calibers. For a long time, the brand’s go-to movement was the hand-wound Sellita SW210-1 - a great choice if you like the ritual of winding your watch every morning, but the newer models have shifted toward the La Joux-Perret G101 automatic. The real benefit here is a 68-hour power reserve, meaning you can leave the watch on your desk over the weekend and pick it up on Monday morning to find it has kept perfect time. 

The straps are also excellent. The brand sources hand-stitched leather, ranging from tough shell cordovan to soft suede, from independent tanneries. Many collectors comment that they feel comfortable right out of the box. Even the packaging is practical. The watches arrive in a handmade suede travel roll.

anOrdain’s work has also caught the attention of the design world outside of watch forums. Its watches actually ended up in the MoMA Design Store in New York, which is pretty massive validation from the art world. The UK's Heritage Crafts Association also gave it official recognition for keeping traditional enameling alive. But for actual collectors, the biggest move happened in 2023 when it bought Paulin Watches, another local Glasgow brand. Paulin was started by three sisters and is known for making really creative, inexpensive, design-forward watches.

The acquisition makes a lot of sense for the company. The Paulin lineup, especially its Neo series, offers a completely different vibe compared to anOrdain’s traditional enamel pieces. They feature bright, unusual dial layouts and smaller, highly wearable case sizes. Paulin also isn’t afraid to use quartz movements alongside mechanical ones, making them a great option if you just want a stylish watch you can pick up and wear without worrying about setting the time.

Practically speaking, Paulin also gives buyers an entry point into the brand's ecosystem. If you are stuck waiting for one of these grand feu dial watcges, you can actually buy a Paulin right away. It offers the same independent Scottish design spirit and custom fonts without the massive delay. Between the two brands, the Glasgow workshop covers both ends of the spectrum: high-end artisan craft and fun, easy-to-wear daily watches.

Retail prices for anOrdain watches range from around $1,500 for the non-enamel Fabrik models up to roughly $5,000 for the Fumé and Method enamel dials. Given the firing-glass failure rate and the custom typography, the retail price is actually very fair. The catch is that because the brand refuses to mechanize production, it only makes a few hundred watches a year. The brand had to scrap its traditional waitlist and switch to a "build slot" system. To get one, you have to pay a deposit to secure a production slot that might be three or four years away, meaning that if you want a Fumé dial immediately, you’ll have to pay a markup on the secondary market.

There isn't really a direct alternative to what the brand is doing. If you just want an enamel dial, some brands are offering models for around $1000, but those are factory-made and lack the handmade character and bright colors of anOrdain. Other popular independents have similar wait times but focus on industrial finishing or lacquer instead of kiln-fired glass.

So, is anOrdain worth the wait? If you care mostly about specs, like water resistance and state-of-the-art movements, or even getting the watch tomorrow, for that matter, anOrdain is probably not for you. But if you love typography, independent watchmaking, and want something that is actually made by hand, the answer is yes. Collecting anOrdain watches requires patience, but this small Glasgow workshop is making some of the most interesting watches around today. You can learn more at anordain.com