Whenever I run out of ideas to talk about a new diver I go back to the idea that their design and technical characteristics were codified in the 1950s and haven’t really changed since, just like the first modern automobile capable of carrying passengers and which could be mass produced came out in 1886 (developed by Carl Benz) and that since, cars have had four wheels, a steering wheel, seats, and a metal body. We can transpose this analogy to any object we use on daily basis—plates, cups, tables—which, once they had been standardized, pretty much (again) look and function the same. Save for the avant-guarde and concept objects and machines which never went into production because they do not really make any sense. All of this is to say that dive watches have basically functioned and looked the same —generally speaking of course—for more than seven decades. But despite that, brands continue to design them because we can’t get enough of these superbly multi-purpose timekeeping devices. 

And so each new diver that comes to market has the potential to do something a little different. But most don’t. Besides the ocean of 1:1 copies of iconic divers, the tsunami of vintage revivals, and the abyssmal well of meh divers, a few brands do make an effort to revisit the classical genre of underwater time-measuring devices so that our passion for them can be rejuvenated and so that brands themselves can share their singular vision for this type of horology. Which is why today I’m happy to be taking you on the exploration of such a watch which does things differently both from visual and technical aspects, without ever going overboard in either domains, so that we can sport a different kind of diver on our wrist without looking like a mad person. The brand in question is Paulin and the model is their latest Mara diver in black (it also exists in blue) which is as interesting visually as it is well built. I know, a rare combination that does come at a certain price—€1.701,95 or roughly $1,955 USD. 

Specifications 

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of what the Mara is made out of and how singular its design is, and how both elements could lead into justifying the asking price, I will remind you of one thing: whenever a brand designs something unique it requires special tooling to make it. Whether it is the case, dial, crystal, bezel, or strap, anything that is bespoke necessitates the development of special processes and tools by the manufacturers to make something specifically for the brand. For example for cases and straps, it means creating molds specifically for the brand which requires itself a complex and lengthy retooling process. Sames goes for basically anything you find on a watch and on the Mara, as making a part that doesn’t come from a catalog of already existing parts means a lot more time and efforts the manufacturer has to invest in order to adapt its processes to the brand’s requests. And so I invite you to think about this for a moment and the impact it has on the price of a watch.

Moreover and lastly, Paulin lists on its website all of its manufacturing partners in Europe and Asia, because it believes that being transparent is a good virtue (I do too) and just for that we should want to take a closer look at the Mara. First things first then, this diver is powered by a La Joux-Perret G101 caliber (4Hz/68 hours of power reserve) which allegedly costs $300 USD to buy which is already saying something. The crystal is a bubbly piece of double-domed sapphire crystal with three layers of anti-reflective coating, a shape that is delightful to look at and which technically aids in sustaining the maximum 300-meter depth rating the Mara is endowed with as its concave profile makes the crystal more resistant to the atmospheric pressure which rises the deeper one goes. And this made it possible to keep the thickness to a reasonable 13.5mm including the crystal (10.8mm without it) which, combined to a diameter of 39.7mm, a lug-to-lug of 48mm, and a lug width of 20mm makes for a comfortable diver to wear. 

Where Paulin also does things differently is in how it designed the bezel and how it built it: wide, deeply set within the bezel assembly, and made of a domed piece of sapphire which looks like vintage bakelite bezel inserts without the unfortunate drawback of easily breaking and scratching. This too couldn’t have been easy or cheap to make, just so I say. Moreover, the grippy part on the bezel is made of ball-shaped holes, as if little pearls were part of the molding process but removed aftewards, and together with a flat surface between them makes the whole apparatus easy to grab and operate. (Though the bezel does not overhang from the case contrary to what Paulin indicates on its website.) The relatively small crown (in relations to the case profile) of 7mm is protected by timid crown-guards and screws down, as does the simple case-back. The lume for its part is everywhere and present in generous quantities: a mixture of BGW9 and C3 on the hands, markers, and bezel markings for superlative nighttime readibility. 

Lastly: the Mara ships on a black FKM rubber strap which has fitted ends to perfectly mold itself to the case, and a black nylon strap made of recycled finishing nets, a leather lining, and two small metal keepers one of which being nomadic. 

Design

I would already argue, in the comfort of my little office, that the Paulin Mara indeed does come with a pretty neat suite of specifications which justifies part of what the brand is asking for it. That is purely on the quality of the parts it is made out of, to which we have to add the complexity of having gotten then made, as I rambled about earlier. Then there is the design of the whole thing, and the Glasgow brand is known—and recognized—for the singularity of its aesthetics. Some of its models are a tad excentric but the Mara is just little so. Part of it makes me think of hardcore 1950s professional divers in the likes of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms on account of the bakelite-looking-but-sapphire-made bezel insert and the minimalistic approach with which the brand designed the numerals on it: tall and condensed numbers which have a calm white apearance during the day but glow like radioactive creatures during the night. The numerals simply mark the 5-minute increments and are complemented by an inverted (and lumed) yellow triangle at the twelve. 

Still looking at the bezel we of course want to linger a little bit on the design of the serated ball-bearing shaped holes which are perfectly placed in the middle of the bezel assembly so that they are indeed easy to grab. What I appreciate here is the seemingly simple appearance of the “knurling” and how easily it blends in within the watch design whilst being darn effective. This goes to show that a brand can approach a particular piece of the design of a diver to make it different but not weird, and here Paulin did a superb job at integrating it within the singular aesthetics of the Mara. So besides the bezel and ultra-domed sapphire (which I also love the look of,) we find a case that has a prominent middle section which stretches to the limit of the 48mm L2L distance, arches down at the lugs towards the wrist, both because it physically does and because the sandwich-polished-chamfer design and construction of the lugs enhances this effect. The polishing is superbly executed, so are the vertical and horizontal satin-like brushed surfaces. 

At its edges, the mid-case is thin which aids in making the watch look thin on the wrist, as it is also on paper, but it also makes it possible to give the bezel and case-back more visual real estate which endows the Mara with a muscular profile. Seen from above the case is shaped like a Manta Ray and the crown perfectly integrates within the right flank. I hope you’re starting to appreciate the complexity of the design of the Mara which goes to add complexity in its manufacturing. Of course the dial is something we can gush over too: the black lacquered surface comes with a lovely sheen, from which the thickly painted hour markers contrast superbly regardless of their shape—circular, triangular, rectangular, and numerical—organized in a cohesive but unusual way, so that the dial has loads of character whilst also being relatively easy to read. The design of the hands is of course no less unique: a needle-shaped seconds hand with a blue lumed lollipop element at its tip, a rectangular minute hand, and a rounded hour hand. 

The Heart of the Matter

Oh boy, I’m going to once again sound like the most broken of vintage records today: unique design = unique manufacturing processes = higher production cost. And: we cannot put a price tag on design, though we can on specs which are anyway excellent here. Not only is all of what you see custom-made for Paulin—which I know isn’t unique in the watch world but more on the rare side of things if we’re being honest with each other—which therefore adds costs. But the heart of the matter is the fact that not only are the things specifically made for the brand but they are also really well made, which is not always a given I’m afraid. Then there is the singularity of the design of the case and dial—just slightly excentric—which ensures that you’re wearing something rather special when strapping the Paulin Mara to your wrist. And the second heart of the matter is this: when I look at the watch on my wrist and think of the $1,955 USD price tag, I say to myself, says I: Yeah, makes sense to me. 

Conclusion 

The competition for dive watches is fierce. In the past seventy years hundreds of brands have made thousands of options for this type of watch. And therefore, a brand who wishes to survive and stand out from the Mona Lisa-like-crowd-at-the-Louvre ought to do something unusual. And unusual is something Paulin seems to excel at regardless of which model from their catalog you look at. Therefore the Mara is something I was delighted to look at for two reasons: (1) because it looks different and cool and its spec sheet is impressive; (2) because upon its release, many industry insiders criticized the brand for the €1.701,95/$1,955 USD price tag. (I did too.) So I wanted to examine what the Mara is and how it feels on the wrist and in-hand, and I must say it is quite exquisite, and how many pesos you will have to remove from your bank account to acquire one does make sense to me. 

Thanks for reading.