When browsing through high-contrast, black-coated, neon-highlighted luxury watches, it shouldn’t be too long before the name Bamford crosses your path. The origin story of the Bamford Watch Department starts with a Daytona. Taking advantage of his father’s corporation, JCB — which specialises in manufacturing equipment for construction, agriculture, waste handling, and demolition — George Bamford wanted nothing more than for his Rolex Daytona to stand out a little more. After consulting with JCB’s engineering department, George had his Daytona murdered-out in the Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) coating, which has become one of his signatures, adorning customised Rolex, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe watches around the world. With tensions growing between watch manufacturers and Bamford’s business, given the jumble of legal grey-areas involved in customising brand-name goods, Bamford Watch Department stepped back from tinkering with Rolex and other lofty brands in 2017 – a cautious but clever move considering the Rolex lawsuit with customiser La Californienne in 2019. Instead, Bamford-enthusiast and watch industry legend Jean-Claude Biver teamed up with the workshop to produce modded pieces exclusively from LVMH brands such as TAG Heuer, Bvlgari and Zenith. These are some highlights of the journey so far. TAG Heuer Monaco Heritage By far the most fun…
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