Bamford

George Bamford started Bamford Watch Department in London in 2004, customising watches that their makers had no intention of seeing customised — blacked-out cases in military-grade PVD, recoloured dials, personalised details. The industry's response was frosty, and in some cases openly hostile.

Then the position changed. LVMH signed Bamford as an official customisation partner for TAG Heuer, Zenith and Bulgari in 2017, making legitimate what had been a grey-market practice, and Bamford became the first company officially licensed to customise Rolex watches through authorised channels.

Bamford London followed as a brand in its own right, producing its own watches rather than modifying others': the Mayfair and GMT lines, quartz and automatic, at a fraction of the price of the watches the workshop had built its name on.

The design vocabulary is consistent — bright accent colours, sandblasted cases, a certain irreverence about watchmaking convention — and the collaborations have run from Aston Martin to popular culture licences.

Bamford holds 1 model, from £1,450 to £1,450. Half cost less than £1,450, and a quarter less than £1,450. 1 of 1 is automatic. Prices are checked nightly against the retailers’ own feeds.

2004

George Bamford begins customising watches in London.

2015

Bamford London launches as a brand in its own right.

2017

Signed as LVMH's official customisation partner.

2018

The Mayfair line establishes the in-house collection.

2020

Collaborations widen beyond watchmaking.