Scottish Field

L ewis Heath – W atchmaker

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Watchmaker­s in Scotland are rarer than hen’s teeth. In fact, anOrdain, Scotland’s one and only watch manufactur­er, is even more unique in its art because they specialise in watches with enamel dials. ‘Aside from a couple of companies in Switzerlan­d and one in Japan, we are the only people in the world doing it,’ says Lewis Heath, who set up anOrdain in Glasgow four years ago. ‘Enamelling is a tricky process involving thin slivers of metal with enamel powder which are put into a kiln at 850°C. The heat tends to warp or crack the enamel so making it perfect is a real challenge.’

Lewis was convinced that Scotland was a great place to make watches when he started up the company, which is named after a remote lochan in Assynt. ‘Scotland is well known for its luxury industry and engineerin­g, so it seemed a good fit.’

The process is very time consuming and it takes the team of eight at anOrdain a day to make just one watch. But the quality and beauty of the finished product speaks for itself. ‘The appeal of a good watch is that if it is looked after it will outlive you. It’s a rare thing in this day and age to have something that will last forever and knowing the skill that has gone into making it and that it’s been the sole focus of a talented team for a whole day is pretty special.’ Watchmaker Chris Roussias, one of Lewis’ anOrdain team, has an eye for detail and a steady hand.

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