A new Australian watch company, Bausele, has launched a watch collection featuring real Australian sand, coal and red earth in the crown of each model.
Bausele, ‘Beyond AUStralian ELEments’, was formed by Max Elgue, Chris Hoppe and Dom Portier at the beginning of last year to fill “a gap in the market for stylish watches” that are “affordable to all Australians”.
Hoppe said the three friends (who have worked for Chopard, Cartier, Bell & Ross, TechnoMarine and the Swatch Group) wanted to “bring something different to the watch world”.
“We wanted to give people something more than a watch to wear – a real experience on their wrist.
“As Bausele is an Australian brand we decided to look for Australian elements (sand, coal and red earth) and, to be different, put them in the crown.”
He said there were “a lot of difficulties” involved in creating the watches – particularly in making the models 200m waterproof but “to fit the Australian culture the watch really needed to withstand the elements and be suitable for the beach”.
Available in three styles, the watches are powered with technical movements from Isa Swiss and are sold with two interchangeable straps.
The target market for the watches, which have a RRP of $250-$420, are “Australians” and “tourists coming to Australia who want to take home a piece of Australia that is unique, chic and not the same old souvenir”.
Hoppe said that the company planned to look at incorporating opal and diamond dust into future models.
For more information visit www.bausele.com (due to be launched this month).