News · anOrdain

anOrdain fires porcelain for the Model 1

A white glazed porcelain dial, bespoke blue numerals and thermally blued hands give anOrdain's compact 38mm Model 1 a new material identity.

Hen & Mills Editorial · 3 min read · 28 August 2026

• anOrdain makes each glazed porcelain dial in-house, accepting subtle firing variations that give every white surface its own texture.
• The polished 38mm steel Model 1 pairs bespoke blue numerals with thermally blued hands, a sapphire crystal and 5ATM water resistance.
• Prices start at £2,200 plus VAT with the G101 movement, or £2,520 plus VAT for the decorated A1 execution.

anOrdain has introduced a Model 1 with a white glazed porcelain dial made in its Glasgow workshop. The 38mm steel watch uses thermally blued hands and a set of numerals designed specifically for this dial by type designer Kia Tasbihgou. Buyers can choose between a La Joux-Perret G101 automatic movement and anOrdain's more extensively decorated A1 version. The premise is simple, but the result depends on a difficult material whose slight surface variations are allowed to remain visible.

Porcelain refuses perfect repetition

The dial begins in a mould before it is glazed and fired at high temperature. anOrdain identifies Cara Louise as the maker responsible for the process in-house. Porcelain can distort, crack or develop unexpected texture as it is fired, so a successful dial is not merely printed onto a stable blank. The brand treats small differences in the glazed surface as part of the finished object. No two examples should reflect light in precisely the same way.

That material changes how the white dial behaves. It is bright but not flat, with subtle depth beneath the blue printing and hands. Tasbihgou's numerals were developed for this particular face, avoiding the impression that an existing Model 1 typeface has simply been transferred onto a new substance. The thermally blued hands provide strong contrast, while the minute track and fine outer printing keep the design legible without covering the porcelain's open surface.

The Model 1 remains compact

The polished 316L stainless-steel case measures 38mm across, 11mm thick and 46mm from lug to lug. Its lug width is 18mm, which keeps the strap in proportion with the relatively fine bezel and narrow hands. A sapphire crystal with three layers of anti-reflective coating protects the dial. The case back screws in, and the complete watch carries a stated 5ATM water-resistance rating.

The black leather strap adds a neutral boundary around the white and blue face. It keeps the material study formal without introducing another colour that would compete with the dial.

Those specifications put the watch in versatile rather than delicate territory. It is not built as a sports watch, but 38mm proportions and a restrained height should make it practical for regular wear. The polished case is deliberately simple because the dial needs visual room. An elaborate bezel or aggressively faceted case would fight the surface texture. Here, the metal acts as a clean frame around the more labour-intensive component.

Two movements, one architecture

The standard version uses the automatic La Joux-Perret G101. anOrdain also offers its A1, a decorated execution developed from the same movement family. The product page separates the two clearly in price, allowing buyers to decide whether extra movement finishing matters as much as the handmade work on the front. Both preserve the Model 1's time-only presentation, so the dial remains free of a date window or power-reserve display.

I think that choice is well judged. A porcelain dial already carries the risk and individual character of hand production; requiring every buyer to pay for the most elaborate movement would narrow the audience without changing the view from the wrist. The G101 keeps the watch focused on the dial. The A1 is there for the collector who places greater value on a decorated calibre. Neither option changes the proportions or typography that define the release.

Restraint lets the craft register

Porcelain has an obvious association with domestic objects and decorative painting, but anOrdain does not lean on that history through floral imagery or ornate borders. The blue numerals, thin track and blued hands are enough. That restraint makes the firing texture easier to notice. It also prevents the watch becoming a miniature plate, which would reduce a difficult dial-making process to a visual gag.

The Model 1 Porcelain therefore fits anOrdain's broader approach without repeating its enamel work. Both materials reward close inspection and depend on heat, but porcelain produces a different surface and a different set of tolerances. The release is most persuasive when understood as material research within an existing case, not as a claim to have reinvented the time-only watch. Its novelty lives in how the dial is made and how each example varies.

anOrdain Model 1 Porcelain pricing and availability

The anOrdain Model 1 Porcelain is priced at £2,200 plus VAT with the La Joux-Perret G101 movement, or £2,520 plus VAT with the decorated A1 movement. anOrdain states an estimated shipping period of three months and includes a five-year warranty. Orders are placed through the brand's product page, with final tax determined by destination.