Paulin Mara: in review

An excellent addition to their lineup

Last summer, we brought you word on Paulin’s new dive watch (seen here). For their very first dive watch, they got some assistance from a well-known name in the watch and diving world: Jason Heaton. While I’ve been fortunate to talk about a lot of great dive watches, Jason actually puts them to the test. So, his word is a good one to follow when you’re designing a dive watch. Let’s see how that turned out for the Paulin Mara.

Paulin Mara: what it is

Well, it’s a dive watch, of course. And one that is not just about the look, but it actually built to take on the task. For the watch itself, you’ve got a 40mm stainless steel case that - with the crown screwed down - carries a 300m WR rating. The dial itself is crisp and legible with clearly differentiated hour and minute hands. The domed diving bezel (which itself surrounds a double-domed sapphire crystal) is uni-directional, which is how a diving-specific watch should be.

In other words - it’s everything you should want, or need, in a dive watch, without any extraneous extras in the way (for instance, no date display). You’ve got what you need to tell the time, track your elapsed dive time (or how long your car has been at the meter), and nothing more. If you’re headed to the water, the watch comes with a color-matched rubber strap, custom to Paulin. Once you’re back on dry land, you can swap over to the textile strap, made from recycled fishing nets and backed with a faux suede for comfort.

Wearing the watch

I can’t speak to the Paulin Mara as a dive watch, as, well, I’m generally not in any water deeper than 10 or so feet. From a landlubber’s perspective, though, it’s a solid watch. Dive watches look - and feel - like they’re ready for anything. As well they should - they’re in the group of tool watches that are meant for hard duty. Things do feel a little more refined, with the polishing on the case and the double-doming you’ve got with the sapphire crystal and the bezel insert.

The great thing about a dive watch in casual use is that the instant legibility translates well, and makes it a cinch to read the time at a glance. Should you get mixed up, it’s simple to tell the hour and minute hands apart, and the dive bezel is clearly marked, for whatever it is you’re timing.

While 40mm might feel small for a dive watch these days, it makes for an eminently wearable watch. And again, that focus on legibility means the dial isn’t suffering for the smaller case size. It also makes the impact of the Paulin-specific design elements (the font used, for instance, as well as the indices on the dial) a little more subtle, and more of an under-the-radar treat for the owner.

Wrapping things up

We’ve been fans of how Paulin (and anOrdain) have gone about putting their aesthetic on watch design, and the new Paulin Mara is an excellent broadening of their horizons. It brings a more robust look and feel to their collection, while still keeping some identifiable design elements that we’ve come to associate with the brand. In short, it’s a truly capable design, and one that looks “just different enough” from other dive watches out there to make it an interesting pickup.

While there was just a single movement option when we talked about the Paulin Mara back in the summer, there is now a second, more affordable, option you can choose. The watch is available in blue (as reviewed) or black for $1,040 (for the Miyota 9039) or $1,664 (for the La Joux Perret G101), directly from paulinwatches.com

Paulin Mara Tech Specs

• MOVEMENT:

  • Soigné grade La Joux Perret G101 (68-hour power reserve, 28,800vph beat rate)

  • -OR- Miyota 9039

• CRYSTAL: Double domed sapphire with 3 layers of anti-reflective coating

• WATER RESISTANCE: 30ATM / Waterproof to 300m (990 ft)

• CASE: 316L Stainless steel

• DIAL: Lacquer and Super-LumiNova on brass

• CASE DIAMETER: 39.7mm

• CASE THICKNESS: 13.5mm

• WITHOUT CRYSTAL: 10.8mm

• CASE LUG-TO-LUG: 48mm

• STRAP WIDTH: 20mm

• WEIGHT (CASE ONLY): 74 grams

• WARRANTY: 24 months