A few decades back, there was a watch that you would sometimes see on the wrist of London’s more directional nabobs. Its mix of colour-popping palms with a blacked-out dial would capture the eye along with the architectural crown guards were unmistakable — but what precisely was it? Well, if you could get up close and personal, then you’d see five little words above the six o’clock marker:”Home of Bamford Watch Department”. Famous for its carbon-coated versions of prestigious pieces from the likes of Rolex and Patek Philippe, it began life as a business outsider but became so popular with the watch neighborhood over the years that it now collaborates with brands on official small variations. If one of its clients ever brought a watch back to be serviced, the business would supply them with a”service watch” to occupy the vacant space in their wrist in the interim. What Bamford hadn’t bargained for, however, was that people wouldn’t want to provide back those watches — BWD had created a sheet of cult wristwear. Bamford took notice and decided to riff about the layout for a consumer version: the Bamford Mayfair, the company’s first solo attempt.
A lot of this Mayfair’s allure is that it is an insider option. If you know, you understand. For an attainable price, you receive a fantastic backstory and great design pedigree. We trialled one with a steel case, aqua white and dial accents and the entire appearance made for a great summer watch. To keep costs down, the Mayfair is powered by a quartz movement (these days a respectable Ronda 715) but nothing more regarding it seems cheap (rightly so, since though it sits at the less expensive end of the current market, #425 isn’t cheap). The profile of this 40mm case is clearly comfortable on the wrist and both the bezel and chunky leather strap texture reassuringly robust.

As you’d expect from the king of customisation, Bamford will provide a Mayfair in pretty much anything dial/hand/case/ring combo you please. We’re tempted to see if they’d sell us one with”Property of Bamford Watch Department” on the front.