One To WatchAbingdon Mullin, Founder Of Her Namesake Brand Abingdon Co.

This is how Abingdon Co. got started back in 2007. "I knew I wanted to fly planes since I was 14 years old," Mullin shares. "I saved as much money as I possibly could through college, and I finally took my first lesson after I graduated. By September of that year, I did my checkride – the final flight exam required by the FAA," she explains. "And, throughout my training, all my flight instructors told me a couple of important things I should invest in – one of those things was a pilot's watch that has all the functions you would need should your avionics go bad."

I think you might be starting to get an idea of where this story is going. Abingdon, while average height, is a relatively slim and overall petite woman. As you well know, pilot's watches – to accommodate the aforementioned functions like a chronograph, GMT, or even a slide rule – most often have a substantial and hyper utilitarian (aka masculine) build. "I had a hard time finding anything I liked, let alone that comfortably fit my proportions," Mullin confesses.

By December 2006, Abingdon had joined the Santa Monica-based chapter of the 99's – a group that was founded back in the 1920s by Amelia Earhart and 98 other female pilots (hence the name 99's). They gathered for their annual holiday party, and naturally, the conversation moved toward their Christmas wish lists. "One woman mentioned she'd always wanted a pilot's watch but had never found one that felt like it was made for women," Mullin recalls. "I immediately chimed in about my experience, and others joined in too. I started to get boiled up inside – the feminist in me was angry – I finally blurted out, 'Ladies, if I figured out how to make a watch, would you help me design it?' Of course, they agreed, but I could tell none of them really expected me to follow through."

As you can guess by now, Mullin did in fact follow through. The next thing she did was set a deadline for herself – her birthday, November 3, the following year (2007). Over the next eleven months, she began building the company that would become Abingdon Co., thanks to a simple recipe: good old-fashioned millennial internet research that led her to the right suppliers and the pressure of a self-imposed deadline. The result was her first two models – the Jackie, a pilot's chronograph, and the Amelia, a GMT.

The pilot community (particularly the women in it) quickly showed interest in Mullin's designs thanks to early adoption from aviation retailers and catalogs as well as airshows. That momentum has continued for the past 18 years, but it's taken much longer for Abingdon Co. to start to get the recognition it deserves from the watch community. The brand made its so-called industry debut at the Windup Watch Fair in New York City in 2022, and it has remained a pillar of the event ever since at cities around the country. However, its presence and prominence have largely remained online and within the aviation sphere, where an Abingdon watch is not just a good pilot's watch to have – for some, it's the best pilot's watch to have.

The year 2022 also marked the brand's 15-year anniversary and a moment of rebranding, spanning beyond the aviation world. Its catalog now includes eight different models, including styles optimized for divers, motorists, tactical professionals, and equestrians. Today, Abingdon Co. is no longer just a premier destination for pilot's watches but all types of tool watches that align with its broader client base: women who do more.

As a watchmaker by women for women, Abingdon naturally found herself in a unique position in the watch industry, producing purpose-built designs for a long-underrepresented group. "Often when we're setting up at Windup the day before it opens to the public, someone from another booth will come over and ask me how I'm selling watches to women – tool watches at that," explains Mullin. "And I always answer their question with a question: how many women are on your team? Because if you give a woman an opportunity to come on the inside and ask her how to create products for and speak to female collectors, she's going to tell you exactly what she thinks."

While it may not fit the traditional watch industry model, Mullin's approach is working. This year, on the 18th anniversary of that special day in November (which, as a reminder, also happens to be Mullin's birthday), Abingdon Co. will cut the ribbon on its first brick-and-mortar showroom (shown above) in the heart of downtown Las Vegas, down the street from its current headquarters. In the typical spirit of Abingdon Co., nothing about this retail space will be traditional. The concept is largely centered around a highly personal shopping experience by appointment only, as well as serving as an event space for activations and tradeshows with the possibility of a single public day each week for walk-ins down the line.

The ribbon cutting this November 3rd will kick off a series of events for the brand's first Watch Week through November 7, including a combination of activations solely for Crew Members (Abingdon Co.'s exclusive collector community) as well as the general public. Crew Members will also take center stage throughout the Watch Week itself. Highlights include bites supplied by vegan chef Stacey Dougan, who has cooked for everyone from Usher to Bill Clinton, and a private concert with Louise Vickerman, pilot and Principal Harpist of the Utah Symphony and Opera. Mullin fully expects the Las Vegas community to get involved as well, teasing performances from Cirque du Soleil and other local entertainers. Of course, what would the celebration be without the launch of the brand's first boutique-exclusive watch? All to say, it's sure to be an exceptional week in Sin City this fall, and tickets are available for purchase today on Abingdon Co.'s website.

These festivities will be the first of many events to be hosted at Abingdon Co.'s new showroom. Next year, Mullin plans to make watch education a primary focus, translating content from her Instagram reels and YouTube channel into a series of workshops to empower women (and men) to be more knowledgeable and responsible watch owners. Longer term, Mullin hopes to attract more watchmaking technicians and artisans to Las Vegas, not only expanding job opportunities in the industry Stateside but also opening the door to classes where collectors can build their own watch from the ground up. Even after nearly two decades in business, it's clear that Mullin is going places, and the sky's the limit for this pilot and watchmaker (pun intended).

For more on Abingdon Co, click here.