Who knew that Scotland had such a robust watchmaking scene? Charlotte Paulin — wife of anOrdain founder Lewis Heath — founded Paulin with her sisters Eleanor and Elizabeth in 2013. Since then, they’ve been making the type of design-focused timepieces that one would expect to find stocked at the MoMA store. (In fact, one of their watches, the Geo Mini, was indeed stocked at the MoMA store for a time.)
Their latest watch is by far the most, exciting, however: Produced in collaboration with none other than anOrdain, the Neo is striking, funky, and just plain fun. Housed in a 38mm steel case with drilled lugs and powered by the Seiko NH35A automatic movement with date, it features a gorgeous anodized aluminum dial, manufactured in Scotland and hand-dyed in Glasgow.
PaulinWhile most watch dials are machined from brass, these aluminum dials are cut, anodized in an electrochemical bath to give them their special sheen, and then dyed in one of three colors by artist Helen Swan, who specializes in aluminum. They’re then pad-printed in anOrdain’s Glasgow studio using a bespoke font designed in-house by Paulin. This font, called “Wim,” is inspired by grid-based typefaces by Dutch graphic designer Wim Crouwel and reflects different inspirations, from architecture to design.
PaulinThe Neo is finished with a Hesalite (acrylic) crystal and your choice of metal or transparent case back and is available in one of many leather straps or metal bracelets. Pricing is set at £395.00, or ~$513, while delivery will take place in November. Available in A (black and white), B (gold) and C (blue) color schemes, the Neo has to be one of the coolest watches of 2020.