By Brent Robillard
Elemental, my dear Watson
Over coffee in Geneva last month, Christophe Hoppé walked me through the way Bausele sells its Elemental. The books open, customers place their orders, and the watches are produced for them. There is a little patience involved. Having now spent some time with the two colourways arriving in the October 15–30 order window, I can see why someone would be willing to wait.
I wrote about that meeting with Christophe in a previous article. Before we parted, he arranged for me to get hands-on with the Long Weekend and City Lights. Both share the same fairly ambitious brief: an integrated-bracelet sports watch with proper diving credentials, a Swiss automatic movement, and a few useful extras. At C$1,150, with the US listing currently sitting at US$795, there is plenty here to talk about.
Long Weekend
The Long Weekend caught my attention first. Its sand-coloured dial has darker fumé shading that brings out the rippled texture beneath the lacquer. The effect recalls looking down at sand through shallow water, and the colour-matched interior bezel carries that warmth outward from the edge of the dial. It is an appealing combination, particularly if your watch box already contains a few black and blue divers. Mine certainly does.
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City Lights
City Lights takes a darker approach, pairing its black dial with a dark blue and black bezel. It strikes me as the more immediately legible of the two, and probably the more versatile. I can imagine it moving easily between the bracelet, leather, and rubber without much thought about what else I am wearing. My preference remains the Long Weekend, though. There is something about that sandy dial that keeps pulling me back.
Key Features of the Bausele Elemental
Dial
Both use applied baton indices above the lacquered surface of the textured dial, with a broad-arrow hour hand, sword minute hand, and lollipop seconds. Super-LumiNova BGW9 treats the hands and markers. Over everything sits a sapphire crystal with five layers of anti-reflective coating and an internal cyclops for the date. Keeping the magnifier inside the crystal leaves the outer surface smooth.
Case
The case is where the Elemental becomes particularly interesting to me. Seen from above, it has the familiar outline of a 1970s-style integrated sports watch. Turn it sideways and the construction looks almost like a sandwich, with the mid-case held between two circular forms. I really like this stacked profile. It gives you something to appreciate beyond the dial and helps the Elemental establish a character of its own.
Dimensions are sensible: 40mm across, 46mm lug to lug, and 12.2mm thick. The case is stainless steel, with a screw-down crown and caseback, and water resistance is rated to 200m. The back carries a stamped sand pattern, continuing the texture from the dial. Inside, a soft-iron Faraday cage provides magnetic shielding, with Bausele quoting resistance to 1,000 gauss.
Then there is the sand in the crown. City Lights contains a little from Sydney’s Manly Beach; Long Weekend carries sand from Palm Beach. It sits in a sealed chamber, giving each version a physical connection to the Australian coast. I like that the beach reference extends through several parts of the watch, from the dial texture to the caseback and the crown itself.
Bezel
The bezel deserves some attention because it is both useful and satisfying to operate. It overhangs the case slightly on either side, making it easy to grip. Its 60-click action is crisp and responsive, with zero back play on the watches I handled. Along with the solid feel of the case, that action makes a strong impression of how well the Elemental is put together.
Bausele calls the twin scales BREATHE and CONNECT. The elapsed-time scale handles conventional timing duties, while the 12-hour scale lets you follow a second time zone against the hour hand. Both scales move together on the same unidirectional bezel, so you set it for whichever job you need. For travel, or keeping track of someone overseas, that is a handy addition.
Calibre
Power comes from the automatic Sellita SW200, beating at 28,800vph and offering 38 hours of reserve. Hacking seconds allows precise setting, and Bausele states accuracy of ±5 seconds per day for these editions. That is the quoted specification, rather than a timing result from my review.
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Bracelet and straps
The bracelet is a modified H-link design with polished, ellipse-shaped centre links. Those rounded centres add some visual variety to the integrated layout. More practically, the clasp offers on-the-fly micro-adjustment, and the bracelet has a quick-release system. Being able to make a small adjustment without reaching for a tool is exactly the sort of convenience I appreciate in an everyday watch.
Bausele has also added leather and rubber straps this year, and we had both in for review. The leather incorporates a metal end link, while the rubber is fitted to the case. Both look right and wear very well with the watch. Having these options gives the Elemental some welcome flexibility, especially given the specific fit required by its integrated design.
Specs
| Case | 316L stainless steel 40mm Diameter 46mm Lug to Lug 12.2mm Thick Integrated Lugs Screw-down Crown & Case Back Unidirectional Dual-purpose Bezel 200m Water Resistance |
| Dial & Crystal | Sapphire Crystal Textured Dial Applied Markers Arrow & Sword Hands BGW9 Super-LumiNova |
| Movement | SW200 25 Jewels 28,800vph/4Hz 38-Hour Power Reserve |
| Strap | Stainless Steel /w On-the-Fly Microadjust, or Integrated Rubber & Leather |
Bausele Elemental
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Open Books
So, how do the books work? For this release, orders run from October 15 to 30, 2026. You choose your edition and place an order during that period. Bausele then produces watches against confirmed orders once the window closes. Registering your email gets you notifications and, according to the brand, access 24–48 hours before the public opening. Registration itself is simply a notification signup.
Bausele’s made-to-order page advises allowing roughly four months after the window closes for delivery. Applied to this October release, that points to around late February 2027, subject to the confirmed production schedule. Buyers receive production updates and shipping tracking. Shipping is included. Orders cannot be cancelled once production begins, so review the terms before placing your order.
Final Thoughts
That wait is part of the purchase, and worth understanding before committing. The watch itself makes a persuasive case. The Elemental feels solid and well built, with an excellent bezel, useful extra functionality, and thoughtful options for adjusting the fit. For the money, I think it is a great diver. City Lights would be easy to live with, but if I were putting my name in the book this month, it would be beside Long Weekend. Which one is for you?
For ordering details and notifications, visit the brand website.
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About the author
Brent Robillard is a writer, educator, craftsman, and watch enthusiast. He is the author of four novels. You can follow him on Instagram.
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