HANDS-ON: The Bausele OceanMoon IV literally has a bit of Australia in every watch

Nick Kenyon

The OceanMoon has been a key part of the Bausele lineup for a decade, released as a watch made for one place – the water. Designed by Christophe Hoppe, who moved to Australia from Switzerland only a little before he started work on this watch, the beaches of Sydney must have offered some inspiration that informed this watch’s development. From the tiny capsule of Aussie sand that fills the lower crown to the bright colours and highly legible dials, the Bausele OceanMoon IV collection is made for the surf and the summer.

The case

With the 42mm case forged from 316L surgical grade steel, both the size and alloy speak to a substantial diver’s watch that doesn’t cut corners in its production. While not dainty in its thickness, the case is robustly built to protect the watch from the effects of magnetism. Of the five regular production references within the Bausele OceanMoon VI collection, two have been finished with an IP Gunmetal coating while the other three have a more utilitarian brushed finish.

The lugs curve downward nicely to meet the contour of your wrist, without being so long as to make it unwearable for those with smaller wrists. Thanks to the rotating dive bezel being found underneath the sapphire crystal over the dial, the case commands less of a visual impact than the dial, improving the legibility and allowing your focus to remain on telling the time quickly and easily. The double crown, for changing the time/date and for manipulating the bezel, is a nice nod to the collectible super-compressor diving watches from the earliest days of scuba diving.

Finally the screw-down caseback is closed, guaranteeing the watch to 200m of water resistance – more than enough for what you or I are likely to need. The caseback also features a graphic that points to the visual inspiration of the watch’s name, with a moon hanging low over the softly rippling ocean.

The dial

The dial is where the action is, with five different colours (not even including the two limited edition references) that offer decent breadth of choice when you’re settling on a look. We were lucky enough to spend some time with the white and green references, which gives a sense both of the brightly coloured and the more monochromatic.

The green dial is both bright and vibrant, not requiring the same direct sunlight to pop that many green watches we’ve reviewed recently do. The sunburst finishing is dynamic and adds significant movement to the dial, without interrupting the legibility provided by the bold stencil-style hour markers.

The white dial features a matte finish that keeps a lower profile than the green, without sacrificing any visual clarity thanks to the strong contrast of the black hour markers. Both dial options feature the same sword-shaped hands with a bright orange minute hand and more muted hour and seconds hands. After all, when you’re diving off a reef, you are only really concerned with the number of minutes you’ve been below the surface, once again emphasising legibility.

Nearly hidden at the 6 o’clock position is a subtle date window, just for a little added day-to-day functionality for those of us who won’t be using it specifically as a diving watch. The internal rotating bezel is also quite subtle, executed in a complimentary colour to the dial and enjoyable to turn via the upper screw-down crown.

The movement 

Powering all five references within the Bausele OceanMoon IV collection is the STP1-11 automatic movement, a Swiss-made caliber that offers 44 hours of power reserve and decent shock protection.

The straps

The straps are another carefully thought-out element of the collection, with a very comfortable and supple performance plastic made of recycled PET.

The outside of the strap is a fairly uniform textured black, while the underside is a bright red that really catches the eye.

All straps are secured with a double folding butterfly clasp mechanism that is opened with a double-push button that isn’t likely to open by accident.

The verdict 

The Bausele OceanMoon IV collection offers a well-considered design that feels contemporary, while throwing in a few vintage-inspired cues. Powered by a Swiss automatic movement, offering 200m of water resistance, impressively legible dials and super comfortable straps, there is a lot to like in the package. Especially at the price point that Bausele is offering this collection, it’s a competitive offering that looks great on the wrist.

Bausele OceanMoon IV price and availability: 

The Bausele OceanMoon IV has an RRP of AUD$1200 and each colourway is limited to 100 pieces. For more details, visit Bausele right here.

Made in partnership with Bausele. However, the opinions expressed in this article are our own in accordance with our Editorial Policy.