Australian watch brand Bausele’s OceanMoon watch offers tide indication.

Looking for a watch that is somewhat different from everything else on the market? Australian watch brand Bausele might be the one. The relatively young brand – founded less than a decade ago by Christophe Hoppe – believes in bringing a bit of Australia to the wrist.  In fact, the brand is named for this mission statement: Beyond Australian Elements. The crown of  each watch features a distinctive piece of Australia in the form of sand from the famed Bondi Beach or red dirt from the outback – all packed nicely into the crown with a transparent tip.

Recently, I had the chance to go hands-on with several of the brand’s watches and it was an enjoyable experience. The company, whose motto is to master the balance in work and play, creates watches that are powered by Swiss movements and offer useful features and functions. Those include an information-packed smart watch with retro appeal (the Vintage 2.0), the surf-inspired OceanMoon watch and even a pilot’s watch. In fact, the brand was just named the Official Watch of the Australian Air Force’s 100^thAnniversary – taking place next year in 2021.

The OceanMoon watch and the Pilot watch both have sand in the crown – a super cool feature that, if you’ve ever been to Australia, is a great way to show off your love of the country. If you haven’t been to Australia yet, this is a nice way to feel you’ve gotten there. Every Bausele watch offers diversity, as each is sold with two straps. The box contains a false floor and when that top layer is removed, the second strap is down under. That second strap is leather or made from fully recycled PET plastic drink bottles.

Hands On With Australian Bausele OceanMoon

The Swiss-made OceanMoon watch from Bausele of Australia comes in multiple versions and is sold with two straps.

Easily my favorite of the three watches I borrowed and wore for a week each is the OceanMoon watch.  The brand says it is inspired by Australia’s rugged coastline, but you don’t get that feel when wearing it. While it is rugged looking, it sits nicely on the wrist. There are multiple OceanMoon versions (five in total) and the style I wore is The Drift – inspired by the sand along the coastline.

Created in a limited edition of 600 pieces, The OceanMoon The Drift watch features a black dial and rose gold-plated case with black pushers. The crown features a transparent cap through which the grains of sand within are visible. While the watch is accompanied by a black rubber strap, I wore it with the vintage-inspired tan strap for the ultimate “driftwood” appeal.

The case back of the Bausele OceanMoon watch will leave beach lovers wishing it was reversible.

I love the look of the watch, including the slightly interrupted stylized numerals at 12:00, 4:00 and 8:00. Typically watch brands that use a mix of numerals and markers place the numbers at 12:00, 3:00 and 9:00. But by adding Arabic numerals at 4:00 and 8:00, Bausele not only surprises the wearer, but also establishes a really nice harmony across the lower portion of the dial, where the Bausele Australia logo resides on this watch. Beneath the logo is a nicely situated date display at 6:00, with the Swiss Made indication beneath that. The entire dial is covered with a high-tech, highly scratch-resistant material called Nanoceram™.

The hands and the markers and numerals are all coated with Super-LumiNova for added brilliance during the day and at night. Being inspired by the tides, the ocean and the coastline, the watch would not be complete without Tide and Moonphase indicators—which are visible in a small subsidiary dial on the top left side of the main dial. The 45mm watch is powered by a Swiss quartz movement and is water resistant to 200 meters. Oh, and did I mention the case back? If you are a beach lover like me, you will be wishing this watch was reversible. In all, it’s a pretty nice package with useful functions, high-tech materials and Australian sand – for about $709.