Bausele In The Press
Christophe Hoppe, Bausele’s Founder and Designer was humbled to be granted the opportunity to be featured in the latest Europastar Swiss watch magazine, which is the New York Times equivalent for the watch world. As well as sitting down for a chat with Ben on The Fine Watches Podcast, talking about how his passion for watches surfaced in his childhood, to how he transitioned from an accountant to CFO in the Swatch group in Switzerland, to moving to Australia and having to rebuild his career again, taking a leap and starting his own watch brand. Christo explains, “my love for watches started early, my parents and grandparents influenced me. I grew up in Saudi Arabia, my parents lost me in the Souk when I was 11 and I was negotiating with a Casio to buy another watch.” Christo came to Australia and felt as if there were no distinctly Australian watch brands about, he would venture to the city in his morning commute and every watch he would see on the wrists of Australians were Seiko. He felt as if there was a gap in the market, he could penetrate and fill with a quality product. Christo says in the podcast, “I was a frustrated accountant… who always wanted to work in the watch world… I always had side projects and brands on the side.” Moving to Australia was the push he needed to take a leap of faith and start his own business. Christo emphasises “Australia is open minded and offers so many opportunities, I would not have been able to compete as a business in Switzerland or Europe with the big players…. I have been so fortunate with the support I’ve received from Australians over the last 10 years. My customers trusted the quality product I was producing and my expertise I brought from working in the industry.” Christo delves into his past roles, “I was the Universal CFO, which really taught me the manufacturing side of watches, as you know exactly what's happening in the industry. You understand how machines and how people were working. I worked with every component manufacturer and I know how to make every part of a watch.”
After being asked what has driven his success as an entrepreneur Christo nailed it down to contacts. “It's about who you know. From the early stages Australians really got behind the concept of having an Australian brand, and trusted my expertise. The support has been amazing, with Aussies wanting to help. But the first 5 years were trial and error, it took time, it was no overnight success. It's our 10 year anniversary this year, which we are very proud of. ”
Christo takes note of the Australian’s approach to timepieces. “We’ve noticed in Australia people are more daring to try their own style and not follow the fashion. As a brand, we sell the Australian lifestyle to people. We are currently selling 30% outside Australia, 70% inside Australia.” The main two watches we sell are the Oceanmoon diving watch and hybrid smartwatch- Vintage 2.0. We also have a bespoke part of the business, creating watches for the Australian Intelligence Corp, Opera House, Special Forces to name a few. “The core of the brand is the Oceanmoon IV, it screams Australia with the diving watch functions, durability and Australian influences.” The Vintage hybrid smart watch was designed “...to be a trailblazer, something new with a hint of the past. It has a Frederic Constant movement that drew a lot of younger consumers to the brand. It required a lot of education to be imparted upon the customer. It allows you to not always be connected, that you can set to only get notifications from certain people and do not disturb for the rest.”
If you would like to listen to the podcast during your next commute or take some time to read the article Christo’s article please find the links below:
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