Happy Sunday. In today’s newsletter: Kiwame Tokyo’s clever ownership structure; IWC layoffs?; another Berneron hits the market; a mis-labeled 1-of-3 Patek Philippe Calatrava at auction; and Rolex gently corrects Wired.
Unpolished Store End-of-Summer Sale: Straps will be restocked for fall in the next week, so everything currently in the Store is marked down at least 10%:
AnOrdain released a new Model 1 Porcelain this week: white porcelain dial, blue numerals by designer Kia Tasbihgou, 38mm case. Lovely watch for $3,000.
A lot of the focus was on the Glasgow brand’s process for making porcelain dials, and how it allows them to produce more than the vitreous enamel dials that made it so popular. From AnOrdain’s press release:
7 enamelers produce 50 enamel dials per month
1 ceramic specialist makes 30-40 porcelain dials per month
About 300 porcelain dials are actually produced/month, but AnOrdain’s rejection rate can be 90%+
I’ve been wearing around a Model 1 Porcelain sample for a couple weeks, and it’s easy to see how. AnOrdain makes its porcelain dials by firing actual clay (not ceramic sheets). There are a few noticeable bumps on the dial, though you’ve gotta catch it at the right angle. Any blemishes are less noticeable than the black Porcelain I tried last year. Perhaps AnOrdain’s gotten better at making porcelain dials because I might’ve assumed white would show more texture.
Feeling crafty
“Just because it’s hard or expensive for you to do doesn’t mean your customer should care or pay for it,” collector & commentator Andy Green said on this week’s podcast. If another brand can make the same thing more cheaply, that’s a you problem.
“If there’s a direct competitor that’s doing volume and it’s cheaper, then that’s something for you to navigate and figure out how to find a different value proposition.”
“Craft” is everywhere right now, including watches. Watchmakers and brands are trying to figure out what they can actually do that the AI or robots can’t, just like programmers, lawyers, accountants. So we hear about hand-finished inner angles, hand-hammered cases, hand-polished hands.
But, as Felix Scholz adds in our pod: “The guys that are selling mass volume don’t need to talk about how unique their watches are. Rolex could write a press release saying every watch has been touched by a hundred hands, but they don’t need to because they’re selling them.”
Craft is narrative, no better or worse than any other story we tell ourselves to justify a purchase.
What are you waiting for?
AnOrdain focuses on craft as much as any brand. It’s in the tagline—old crafts, new hands.1
I’ve been on the waitlist for one of AnOrdain’s vitreous enamel dials since 2024 (build slot coming in 2028!). With its new porcelain dials, AnOrdain’s managed to solve a business problem—supply naturally limited by production—and sell it as mastering a new craft. Feeding two birds with one scone.
For the last two weeks, I’ve been wearing around this Porcelain Model 1. It’s a different process, different material, different makers. But the dial looks just as good as the enamel.
Part of that’s the numerals, the best AnOrdain’s come up with yet. Tasbihgou’s design is clearly inspired by Breguet. Not a copy, but you can see where they came from. Same swelling stroke, same wandering tails.
It all makes me wonder why I’m still waiting until 2028.
Sure, I can tell myself the story about craft—AnOrdain mastering enamel and bringing it to their in-house Glasgow workshop. That they can only make 50 dials a month. And credit where it’s due, AnOrdain’s queue isn’t manufactured by artificial scarcity.
But that’s only part of it. Part of what I want is the waitlist. That other people also want it.
The waitlist isn’t just a byproduct of the craft, it’s part of the product itself.
RELATED READING:
Back in January, I asked 13 people—an Olympian, Formula 1 lead, founders, collectors, and makers like Berneron and Büsser—to help me find the line between making and marketing.
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The Roundup
Kiwame Tokyo’s clever (and sneaky?) rebranding; a 1-of-3 vintage Patek Philippe Calatrava mislabeled at auction; IWC layoffs coming?; another Berneron Mirage for sale; and Rolex vs. Wired.
