Breadcrumbs [Home](/) > [My Life In Watches: George Bamford](/markdownify/node/4034) ![My Life In Watches: George Bamford](https://media.slman.com/wFBBeOG4fH_bAM8ZPYIlp_icSEI=/800x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsw18.sheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fslman%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2026%2F01%2Fsl-man-070126-site-assets-my-life-in-watches-hero-thumb.jpg) Image: @BamfordLdn [Watches](/style/watches) / 07 January 2026 # My Life In Watches: George Bamford From taking apart Breitlings in the 90s to designing another sellout G-Shock collab late last year, George Bamford has made watches his life’s work. Here, the founder of Bamford Watch Department talks us through his journey as a collector and customiser… ByTobias Gourlay Image: @BamfordLdn [ ![](https://media.slman.com/YvURMzcoL7YmpdnPEI4a_XyaRts=/800x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsw18.sheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fslman%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2025%2F12%2Fsl-man-my-life-in-watches-george-bamford-credit-bamfordldn-1.png) ](https://www.instagram.com/bamfordldn/?hl=en) @BamfordLdn **Inherently, we are all collectors and hoarders.** Art, trainers, shoes, glasses – everyone collects something. We only need one of these things, but we have ten. I don’t need any more watches, but actually I do, because I’m a collector. **A watch on my wrist is something that I love.** Anytime I take a watch off and I play with it, and I look at it, it's something that makes me smile. On the weekends, I always wear a watch that I've not designed or done anything on. It’s my treat to go, okay, I'm going to wear a [Panerai](https://www.panerai.com/gb/en/home.html) or an [Audemars Piguet](https://www.audemarspiguet.com/com/en/home.html). That makes me smile as well, because I'm wearing something that delights me in another way. **Before anyone talked about side hustles, watches were my side hustle.** I used to go to flea markets and trade them. In 1995, I took my first watch to pieces. I’m highly dyslexic so I learn by looking and doing stuff with my hands. I used to take VCRs and DVD players and TVs to bits. My parents even had to have a lock on the outside of my bedroom door because I'd get up before them, go downstairs and try to rebuild the juicer or something like it. I can remember my father telling me the price he’d bought it for... I don’t think he expected me to take it to bits. **That watch I took to pieces was a** [**Breitling Navitimer**](https://www.breitling.com/gb-en/collections/navitimer/)**.** My parents gave it to me for Christmas. I can remember my father telling me the price he’d bought it for. I think it was £350 and I don’t think he expected me to take it to bits. By the end of Boxing Day, it was in pieces on a towel next to a screwdriver and a penknife. By New Year, it was back together, and missing a few bits. It’s got scraped since then, the glass has been broken a couple of times, the hands have been replaced at least three times, and there are loads of dents where I tried to rip off the back as a kid. But it sits in my safe and it will never go anywhere. **When I was growing up, a friend of my sister’s boyfriend was just the coolest guy.** He would always have a [Silverstone](https://www.tagheuer.com/gb/en/vintage-collection/heuer-silverstone-series.html) or a [Speedmaster](https://www.omegawatches.com/en-gb/watches/speedmaster) on, and I think that turbocharged my love for that type of watch. But there was nowhere you could really learn about those watches. **Talking about watches used to be like talking into a wall.** There were people that would buy a watch because it would be a certain value, and there were people that really loved watches, but there wasn't a community that was talking about watches. Today, you can get into this weird world and find cool things for almost nothing – a [Casio](https://www.casio.com/uk/), a [Seiko](https://www.seikowatches.com/), even a [Zenith](https://www.zenith-watches.com/en_gb) for a couple of hundred quid. [ ![](https://media.slman.com/NnRUHIbWSbqUOvRkEMyPek1NlQ8=/800x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsw18.sheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fslman%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2025%2F12%2Fsl-man-my-life-in-watches-george-bamford-credit-bamfordldn-small-landscape.png) ](https://www.instagram.com/bamfordldn/?hl=en) @BamfordLdn **The consumer now has a genuine choice between vintage and modern.** With vintage, you used to either be a part of a very unique group of collectors, or you kind of ignored it because you couldn’t afford it. Companies like [Subdial](https://subdial.com/) and [Wristcheck](https://wristcheck.com/uk) have changed that. They’re supported by proper watchmakers, and they have proper teams in place to give you trust in what you’re buying. Even the brands now have big pre-owned departments. It never used to be like that – pre-owned was just a sort of bargain-bucket area. **There’s so much going on now, it’s hard to cut through the noise.** That’s why we did the pop-up shop for our [latest G-Shock](https://bamfordlondon.com/products/bamford-g-shock-2025). We took over an old newsagent for four days – t-shirts in a detergent pack, cereal packets with hoodies in. It was experimental, but it felt like us. There were queues around the block. **Our previous G-Shock sold out in 90 seconds.** It crashed our website, it crashed G-Shock worldwide, it crashed G-Shock UK. We couldn’t do that again, so this time there were stage points. There was the pop-up, then we went online in the UK only, then worldwide later on. There was still such an influx that G-Shock’s UK site went down, but we put enough stock in the system that people could still buy. I want this watch in real collectors’ hands. I don’t want the messages going, you arsehole, I couldn’t get one. **Back in the day, I spent six months in India with a yellow G-Shock on the whole time.** It was a big, bad boy and I loved it beyond belief – the idea of that toughness was amazing. If you’re a watch lover, you have to love the G-Shock. **A Seiko Tuna with a ceramic shroud is an amazing dive watch.** Christ, it’s a cool watch. For bang for your buck, I’d look at the [TAG Heuer Aquaracer](https://www.tagheuer.com/gb/en/timepieces/collections/tag-heuer-aquaracer), and then there’s [Tudor](https://www.tudorwatch.com/en). Tudors always offer good bang for buck, and I kind of like that they’re not [Rolexes](https://www.rolex.com/). They’ve got the same heritage, but I think they’re cooler. [ ![](https://media.slman.com/Sm_rxh9jIbn00L5rr9YKXdRXdZk=/800x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsw18.sheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fslman%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2025%2F12%2Fsl-man-my-life-in-watches-george-bamford-credit-bamfordldn.png) ](https://www.instagram.com/bamfordldn/?hl=en) @BamfordLdn **For a dress watch, I think a** [**Furlan Marri Disco Volante**](https://www.furlanmarri.com/collections/disco-volante) **is a beautiful thing.** If the budget’s bigger, I’d probably go [Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso](https://www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/gb-en/watches/reverso) – I love the Reverso idea. At the high end, [Piaget Polo](https://www.piaget.com/gb-en/watches/piaget-polo) is a knockout. It’s an alternative to a Nautilus that you don't see many times. That's a damn cool watch. **£1,000 is kind of an odd price point for watches.** If you’re below that, I’d definitely go for a G-Shock. Just above it, there are some lovely [Frédérique Constants](https://www.frederiqueconstant.co.uk/). With £1,000 for a daily wearer, I think I’d pick up a [Seiko Speedtimer](https://www.seikoboutique.co.uk/product-category/mens/prospex/prospex-speedtimer/). **I have a top ceiling on pricing and I never tell anyone what it is.** Above that price, there are watches I look at and go, wow, I love it, but I will never buy it. There are a few at that level this year that I think have moved the needle. The [Ulysse Nardin Ur-Freak](https://www.ulysse-nardin.com/en-gb/watches/freak/2413-500le-2a-ur-3b) that they launched at Dubai Watch Week was an absolute knockout. Batshit bonkers, but cool. **There is one watch I love beyond belief but could never justify.** It’s the [IWC Ingenieur with shock absorber](https://www.iwc.com/gb-en/watches/pilot-watches/iw357701-big-pilots-watch-shock-absorber-tourbillon-skeleton-xpl). I just love the idea of it. Why do you have to conform, anyway? **Brands are now going back into their archives and coming up with interesting things.** We went back with [Girard-Perregaux](https://www.girard-perregaux.com/row_en/) into theirs to come up with a [Laureato](https://www.bamfordwatchdepartment.com/product/bamford-watch-department-x-girard-perregaux-laureato-ghost-ceramic-bracelet/) last year. It was a knockout white ceramic, and I think white’s going to come back in a big way, as well as other exciting colours. I think tool watches are here to stay, and odd-shaped ones too – the Cartier Crash is now sacrosanct. **I’m excited to see what happens with watches in 2026.** Last year we saw brands doing things with new materials – look at the [TAG Monaco](https://www.tagheuer.com/gb/en/timepieces/collections/tag-heuer-monaco/39-mm-th81-00/CBW218B.FT8124.html) that launched at Dubai Watch Week. Tudor is doing different things with the [Pelagos](https://www.tudorwatch.com/en/watches/pelagos) and I think there’s more to come. Brands like [IWC](https://www.iwc.com/gb-en) and Panerai are not pushing back to their heritage, but they are saying, this is us, and we’re really going to fuck around with this. As a consumer, I think that’s going to make for some pleasant surprises where you just go, ohhhh, yeah. **Yes, I do think you can wear a G-Shock with a suit.** I wore mine to a legal meeting this morning. It’s got a metal case and it looks great. Why do you have to conform, anyway? *To see more of George’s custom watches, visit* [*BamfordWatchDepartment.com*](https://www.bamfordwatchdepartment.com/) DISCLAIMER: We endeavour to always credit the correct original source of every image we use. If you think a credit may be incorrect, please contact us at .