The future of Scottish watches looks bright.
Glasgow is an unlikely hub for watchmaking, but somehow the Scottish city has become a thriving hub for left-of-centre horology.
anOrdain is the shining, enamel-dialled star of the Scottish scene, but the brand, founded in 2015, was actually pre-dated by
Paulin Watches. 
The Paulin Modul in vivid yellow
Paulin Watches partners up with anOrdain
Paulin is 10 years old this year. The brand has historically focused on accessible design pieces. That looks set to change, as anOrdain has acquired Paulin, and relaunched the brand with a clear roadmap for the future.
Manually wound La Joux Perret movement in the Paulin Modul
First of all, Paulin and anOrdain have a history of working together. Not only was Paulin founded by Charlotte Paulin, the wife of anOrdain founder Lewis Heath, but in 2022 anOrdain designed the dial of the Paulin Neo, a funky quartz number that proved hit amongst fans. The Paulin team, under the leadership of Creative Director (and founding member of anOrdain) Imogen Ayres, has been building on the vision of the Neo to evolve the aesthetic vision of Paulin. Today the brand has released the first ‘new’ Paulin, the Modul.
The Paulin Modul is the start of a new era
Modul is a petite 35mm steel watch, watch, offered with bold, strikingly designed dials in yellow, brown or pink. On its own, this is a bold enough choice to set Paulin out from the black, white and blue dial-starter kit set, but even more interesting, the brand has opted for a choice of two movements. There’s a NOS quartz option from ETA, or the La Joux Perret D100 manual wind, both offered with a display back — which on the quartz option is simultaneously awesome and redundant. These watches are priced at USD 495 in quartz, and 995 for the manual.
Paulin Modul in brown
Under anOrdain’s management, Paulin is set to continue to stand as an accessible entry point into watches, which promise to pair Paulin’s strong design sensibilities with anOrdain’s watchmaking expertise. It also offers an exciting outlet for ideas that cannot currently be incorporated within anOrdain, Lewis Heath explains; “With the highly-skilled, time-intensive nature of what we do at anOrdain, and the well-documented demand, Paulin presents our designers and watchmakers with the opportunity to explore new ideas in design and manufacturing, and make them available to a broader audience.”
A NOS ETA quartz movement in the Paulin Modul
The brand is also committed to developing local capacity and working towards transparency. Assembly, regulation and servicing will take place in Scotland, and the company is looking to train up to five new watchmakers in the next year. On top of that, Paulin will offer an alternative to the sometimes murky world of Swiss-made watches and intend to offer a transparent supplier list and pricing for all models under USD 1000.
Paulin might not be a new brand, but they’ve certainly been given a new lease of life.
