Bamford Watch Department Customized Rolex Watches Hands- On & Thoughts"Rolex thinks that their watches are perfect," says George Bamford, founder of Bamford Watch Department. He pauses to consider his statement and then adds, "they probably are. But I still think there is a lot of room for Rolex watches to be more unique." In a simple way, this has been the defining ethos behind the highly successful Bamford Watch Department business, which the son of English construction magnate Sir Anthony Bamford started about 1. In a nutshell, what Bamford does is purchase brand new Rolex watches and then modifies them with mostly advanced industrial case coatings and special dial treatments. These are then sold as parts of limited editions to Bamford watch customers, or produced as one- of- a- kind models for those who want the ultimate personalized Rolex experience. The Bamford Watch Department story is an interesting one and, after 1. Geneva- based Swiss watch maker George clearly adores.

I met George Bamford during one of his frequent trips to Los Angeles and checked out some famed Bamford Rolexes. He is uncommonly friendly with a reserved sense of British energy and enthusiasm for his work. An art and fashion lover, George grew up in a privileged household with a loving yet firm father who didn't want the family fortune to create a sense of entitlement and a mentally sedentary lifestyle for his children.

George explains that he was "cut off" after college, because his father wanted him to begin a business and make a life for himself.  The Bamfords no doubt live a life of comfort and taste, but neither George nor his sister seem to have the mentality that personal business success isn't important to their futures – quite the opposite, actually. George Bamford seems to be the most comfortable around other creative types such as designers and artists, who populate his social circles. Not all of his past businesses succeeded, which has allowed George the ability to appreciate the complexity of running a company with a lot of moving parts. While the idea of a company that artistically re- thinks the design of some of the world's most popular watches might seem simple, there are notorious challenges to his work that make what Bamford does sort of special. Rolex is the most popular luxury watch maker in the world, and also one of the top names in luxury across all categories.

There are entire businesses dedicated to fixing, copying, re- selling, auctioning, and buying Rolex watches that exist outside of the official Rolex sales or service channels. Rolex long ago had to reconcile with the fact that it cannot control all elements of how people buy and wear their timepieces.

Nevertheless, Rolex officially admonishes the practice of customizing its watches. A position that might seem cold, but Rolex has pretty good reasons for this policy, even if it prevents some interesting opportunities. Nevertheless, Rolex can't always control what happens after people buy its products, and like the automotive world, the aftermarket watch customization industry can be big business.

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It is worth discussing Rolex's policies in regard to how it externally handles the notion of customizing their products. What anyone who customizes their own Rolex or purchases one from a company like Bamford needs to know is that Rolex will not service their watch, and that they have more- or- less voided their warranty. For that reason, Bamford itself has the capacity to professionally service your watch, but not all Rolex customizers can do so.

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This is particularly important to consider because Rolex does not make parts for its watches available to anyone outside of officially authorized Rolex service centers. So unless you have a stock Rolex watch or a relationship with a company like Bamford, your customized Rolex watch is totally unserviceable to a large degree. In fact, this situation is very similar to how many car companies handle situations where their products are customized by aftermarket tuners. Rolex has two primary concerns about having its products customized, and each is legitimate. Even though you might nevertheless decide that customizing a Rolex is the coolest thing to do, I feel that you should understand what Rolex is thinking.

The first concern is in regard to design. Rolex feels that because they put so much effort into recognizable designs and brand DNA, having all types of different designs out there will damage their image, create customer confusion, and degrade from a look and feel that they have groomed for their products. In other words, Rolex puts a lot of time and effort into how their watches look and wants to make sure that when people see a Rolex on someone's wrist, they receive the high quality experience that people associate with the brand. The second reason why Rolex doesn't want companies to customize their watches is sort of related to the first, and is more specific in regard to the quality of parts and legibility. In addition to Rolex wanting people to "know a Rolex when they see one," Rolex wants to make sure that people's perception of their product development and finishing standards are consistent.

Rolex (and its suppliers) arguably produces some of finest watch parts and components in the world. There really aren't that many (or any) aftermarket companies or individuals who can copy what Rolex does precisely. For that reason, Rolex hates the idea that people might be wearing watches with the Rolex name on it that aren't perfectly up to snuff with Rolex quality. In the luxury world, image and perception are everything, and Rolex doesn't want anyone to view their products which may be modified and believe that what they are seeing is a perfect representation of Rolex's work. Of course aftermarket customers could just remove the Rolex name off the dials of the customized Rolex timepieces, but that would be really eroding at the whole concept, wouldn't it? In regard to George Bamford, "Rolex" is really very much part of the point. The Man Who Fell To Earth Full Movie Part 1.

While Bamford Watch Department certainly does customize non- Rolex watches (mostly Audemars Piguet and Panerai), somewhere between 8. Rolex timepieces.

George explained to me how he got into customizing Rolex watches in the first place, and it began with a story of his first Rolex, back when he was a teenager. He was positively thrilled to get a Rolex Daytona as a gift, until he noticed that many of his peers had the exact same watch.

Bamford recalls the experience with clarity and explains that he knew what it was like to feel like a confident woman entering a party in a red dress only to notice that other ladies in the party are wearing the same red dress. For many people, the idea of merely owning something really nice is enough, but it is true that most people want to feel unique in what you choose to show off via items you wear. Feeling unique through wearable style is the hallmark of the fashion industry, even if most people end up being extremely conformist.

What is important is that they feel unique, and that is so much more important when it comes to luxury. When you take a group of people with a high amount of disposable income, you immediately begin to notice that they all want to make unique choices while still making "good choices."This latter concept helps explain what is perhaps one of the most ironic aspects of the custom Rolex watch industry. I asked George, "if you really want to wear a unique watch, then why not purchase something from one of the great many smaller watch brands that offer all types of interesting things you aren't at all likely to see on other people's wrists?" George seemed to ponder this question for a moment, as though even agreeing with me was against his life philosophy. Not wearing a Rolex seems to be as much out of the question for Mr. Bamford as wearing a factory Rolex.

So what is he thinking? A lot of people look at Rolex as being the ultimate watch making company in the world.