Ms Pauline YIM Po-ling

Ms Pauline YIM Po-ling

Creative Director, Memorigin Watch Company Limited
Design graduate

The Cantopop classic “Tourbillon” uses luxury watches to ask deeper questions about time, materialism, and value. For Ms Pauline Yim Po-ling, a watch designer and PolyU Design alumna, those questions are part of her everyday craft.

In her eyes, a wristwatch is far more than a tool for telling time, and its value goes well beyond its price tag. Within its small dimensions, creativity and craftsmanship come together in intricate layers, giving rise to story after story.

Pauline entered the industry somewhat by chance. After graduating from university, she joined a watch company as a graphic designer. Later, her talent was recognised by the head of the design department. From her first attempt at drawing a watch and discussing feasibility with engineers, to checking technical drawings, following up on production, and selecting materials, colours, and components, Pauline says, “A flat drawing has to go through precise calculations and repeated adjustments before the concept can become a real watch. The more I became involved, the more fascinating I found watch design.”

In 2019, Pauline designed a tourbillon watch for a crossover project with “Alex Fong’s 45km Swims around HK Charity Challenge”. Collaborating with a celebrity and contributing to a charitable cause was exciting in itself, but arriving at the venue before dawn to show her support and witness the birth of a record left an even deeper impression on her. As sketches drawn in the meeting room became a fully functioning timepiece worn on the wrist, the perseverance and hope behind this remarkable feat at sea became something she could truly see and feel.

Crossover collaborations have continued to expand Pauline’s imagination. A simple question from musician and designer Mark Lui prompted her to re-examine the shape of the watch case, and even the way time is read, while the keen sensitivity of supermodel and jewellery designer Qiqi towards the wearing experience deepened her understanding of artistic craftsmanship. “Every exchange with different creators brings new inspiration,” Pauline says.

Pauline’s design thinking also echoes her learning journey. During her time at PolyU, she took part in many project-based learning experiences. In one of them, she researched the problems of an existing corporate application and redesigned it with a more user-friendly interface. “The process was very similar to real work: design is not just about making things look beautiful, but about solving problems for clients.” Internship programmes, summer experiences, and exchange opportunities also allowed her to become familiar with the rhythm of the workplace early on, helping her step into the working world with greater confidence.

Time only moves forward, but design can offer people a different way of seeing it. By chance, Pauline encountered watch design; since then, she has continued to refine her work between creativity and technology, breaking boundaries through one crossover collaboration after another. As she gives form to time, she also gives direction to serendipity. Looking ahead, she will continue to follow the path of her heart, engraving her own sense of value into the passing seconds.

Publishing Date: September 2026