Some might call it sacrilege; others might consider it a godsend. London-based Bamford Watch Department is the industry’s best-known customizer of high-end watches, transforming mass-market luxury products into pieces unique. Company founder & CEO George Bamford tells iW how he got started and discusses what his eleven-year-old company offers to those who aren’t satisfied with off-the-rack timepiece design.
iW: How did you get into the watch customizing business?
George Bamford: About twelve years ago, I started by customizing two watches: a vintage Rolex Submariner and a vintage Rolex GMT. I didn’t see it as a business. I wanted to create something that was unique for me. It was a bling nation and anti-bling for me was black, so that was why I did black – it was my anti-bling.
Then over the summer I got twenty-five orders. That’s how it started. Later, I was at a dinner party and everyone had an identical watch to me. I thought, “This is not rare or unique.” I thought to myself, “How can I make something that’s unique to me that I will never want to take off?”
So I did a black watch, got orders on it, and the business started like that. It was just word of mouth.
Which are the different customizable elements?
Dial, bezel, hands, batons, luminous paint, text. We’re dealing with one of ones. We’re dealing with you as a unique person. The blue of your shirt, you could say I want this as the blue of my watch dial and we could do it.
You never customize your clients’ own watches?
The reason is because of the warranty and servicing. If you brought me your watch, even if I trust you beyond belief, I may not trust the source of the watch. I may not trust that all the springs, everything, is 100-percent Rolex, Patek or anything. So these are all brand-new watches and we know the sources of each one; we have traceability of each watch.
How long does a customer have to wait to have his watch delivered?
Six to eight weeks. We’ve got a small team, but we’ve got a lot of freelancers.
What are the prices of your customized timepieces?
From £7,500 to £100,000 (about $12,500 to $167,000). It depends on which watch it is. Fixed prices are always on our website. We’re very open about our pricing. We do after-market hands or bezels and I’m very open about these things because I don’t want someone to say, “That’s not a Rolex.” It’s a Swiss-made bezel of the highest grade that I can get, which is similar to Rolex, and it fits beautifully, and the hands, they’re beautifully made in Switzerland, but they’re not the hands that came with the watch.
If someone wants special hands or a special bezel, we can do it, but there will be a cost and I’m
upfront about it.
You personalize timepieces independently of the watch brands. What do they think of your creations?
It’s love-hate. We void their warranty and their servicing. I look after all of that with a lifetime guarantee on the coating. There’s no responsibility from the brands. As soon as it comes from us, I take responsibility for the watch. It’s a two-year warranty, but then after that we look after it for a very minimal fee because my biggest advert is the watch on your wrist and how quickly I can get it back onto your wrist after there’s been a problem.
I’m a watch geek. I love Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet–all brands. And all I want to do is to make them more special. I love designing watches, I love personalization, I love individuality. You don’t want to be following the crowd.
