Anyone on here got first hand experience of how good they are ?
I’d be interested in hearing the trade view of them as a brand as well , Heywood got any thoughts about them ?
Thanks in advance.
Since you ask for my opinion directly :Originally Posted by Buster73
I would rather have my testicles bashed between Panerai boxes, have "Breitling Forever" tattooed across my forehead and be made moderator of the Bear Pit with my home address published and an extra large letterbox fitted for "special deliveries" than touch, buy, own, sell, value or otherwise be associated with / exposed to financial involvement in one of these abominations.
I wish you’d just say what you thought.
HaHa!! That tickled me!!
I love Rolex watches but any deviation from originality ruins them for me.
Why Panerai boxes ?
Have you seen the size and weight of them?
That's why.
I will be going against the grain here but if based purely on aesthetics, (forget servicing, resale etc) I would say some of the simpler versions such as the Submariners with sword hands, PVD coating and 60 minute marked bezel are an improvement on the original watch, for example the dark cases make the lugs look less out of proportion to my eyes.
Some look awful though.
Are they value for money? - nope
Do some of them improve the visual appeal of the watch? - for me, in some cases yes.
Would I buy one nope...
Their site used to be full of customisable Rolex, it certainly looked like Bamford were able to get hold of them directly from source for customising. Now? Only Zenith, Tag Heuer, Bulgari and their own brand. Not a Rolex in sight
Clearly Rolex decided not to bother any more.
Their configurators are quite fun, but I would never buy one.
Dave
There is an article on Bamford watches in the latest issue of Land Rover's 'ONELIFE' magazine. Since 2016 the company has had a link with LVMH concentrating on Tag Heuer, Zenith and Bulgari, abandoning Rolex. Apparently Rolex took a dim view of the modified models and servicing was a problem.
I deliberately bought one of the Parnis PVD "no Logo" watches because it didn't look like the real thing.
The Bamford conversion is not a Rolex watch anymore, just and assembly of Rolex parts.
All the wrong notes, but in the right order.
If you like what you see and don't worry about residuals, then get it. I think they look fantastic.
Very easy to be narrow minded and disregard them but actually if you disregard the price as the process is very easy to apply and reverse less the overprinted dials. Then done right they can look ok and plenty love them.
RIAC
Answer the question, Heywood.
You sound like a politician!!!
Trust you're well.
If offered one for stock, would you buy it?
How much below the original cost?
Would you give any disclaimers over parts and servicing?
As for the processes being easy to reverse, I'm not convinced. How far would Rolex go to "restore" a watch and what would need to be done by others?
For most people, to obtain a correct Rolex dial will require a full service at the same time.
Better to buy a normal Rolex and put some children's stickers on it, if you ask me (OP did) but I'm happy to read others' opinions (which makes me broad-minded, but with a straightforward dislike of what this company does).
H
If you like the design and don’t care too much about residuals or the servicing risks then go for it. Too many on here will argue that any modification to a Rolex is automatically wrong because a Rolex is always perfection, it’s not. Rolex are good at what they do which is mass producing thousands of well engineered identical watches every day and using clever marketing to make you think that you have an exclusive product. What they don’t give the wearer is any sense of individuality which some, myself included, value quite highly.
Having said that, I’ve yet to see a Bamford Rolex that I like. They certainly have the talent somewhere as the carbon fibre Monaco produced with Tag was a beautiful piece. Also, if individuality is your thing, why opt for a Rolex at all when there are so many other makers to choose from?
Well that was fairly conclusive LOL
To answer your question it’s not a watch I would routinely take for stock but do get asked for them regularly and have purchased a few and sold them at the right money.
Clearly if I was going to buy one it would not be anywhere near the original cost but then again most people who buy these watches are fully aware that they will drop significantly. That said most people choose to go to An established firm to have them made. The actual process of DLC in that these manufacturers use is all outsourced to one or two companies within the UK and Europe so it is very easy should you ever wish to do it to take a standard Watch and have the process is completed. It is completely reversible but a little bit of a pain as the watch has to go away.
People need to be aware that the guarantee is only with the original company that sold it. To all intents and purposes it is just a Rolex so any of the internal parts are fairly easy to replace outside of it being sent back to Rolex.
I personally I’m not a huge fan of them however I’m also not a huge fan of opera and classical music but I wouldn’t poo poo it as being rubbish as I appreciate that to some ears it is without doubt the finest music on the planet.
RIAC
Agree with 100thmonkey.
Not to everyone’s taste but that is what makes the watch market such a varied mix.
Anyone buying a DLC Rolex or any DLC modded watch knows fully that they are going to take a serious hit on resale and have very little interest in that aspect but what you are buying is a unique look and with Rolex, unique is not a word you would associate with that brand.
Anyone who isn't sure can try a cheaper version.
These two PVD examples were on sale yesterday. Prices are up by £12 today.
£50 from Ali Express with the ceramic bezel
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3288...16a92e0e6Ro4rW
£44 with the basic aluminium bezel
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3281...16a92e0e6Ro4rW
This is my old watch on the right. I modified the Parnis bracelet to fit the PRS-4.
The PVD was strong enough to take an accidental bash or two.
Timing was good enough at +or- 20 seconds per day (0 to +10s if regulated)
Bamford will appeal to the kind of person who buys a very expensive car, then covers it in Matt Black shrink wrap.
He’s warming to them f you ask me.
Oh come on Haywood! The man’s minions are amazing artisans, just look what they can do with a dab of nail polish...
Ed Sheeran’s ‘Bamford’ Patek (from the hodinkee article)
The application of the red paint looks a bit naff.Oh come on Haywood! The man’s minions are amazing artisans, just look what they can do with a dab of nail polish...
Ed Sheeran’s ‘Bamford’ Patek (from the hodinkee article)
If that was icing on marzipan, that would be tolerable
I love that it matches one he gave as a gift to an unnamed friend.
Can you imagine that? "I got you this Patek! But I ruined it. Lol".
Cheers Ed.
Is that some bleed at ten o'clock? That is horrendous.Oh come on Haywood! The man’s minions are amazing artisans, just look what they can do with a dab of nail polish...
Ed Sheeran’s ‘Bamford’ Patek (from the hodinkee article)
Bamford in conjunction/approval with a brand (such as what the've done with Zenith) seems to work much better than when they take an existing watch and then go forward and butcher it.
What a waste of a Patek the above is!
A few of the Monacos and Zenith they've done are quite nice I think (still doesn't justify the price). Bamford also has their own line of 'Bamford London' watches I think... Those I'm really not a big fan of:/
https://bamfordlondon.com/collections/mayfair-sport
I’m not adverse to some of the Bamford Rolex designs, I just can’t see myself ever actually parting with my hard earned for one. The fact Rolex now takes a dim of them by refusing to service etc is a def drawback.
However I’m quite a fan of the bamford mr porter zenith collaboration and would consider buying one.
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Last edited by Gerald Genta; 13th November 2019 at 13:31.
Indeed a shocker, very poor attention to detail.
Cheers
Rory
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Ive handled a couple.
The finish is dreadful.
I was so taken by the red paint I hadn’t even noticed the lume difference between hands and dial.
I presume they’ve redone the dial no doubt after flooding the lume wells with Chanel’s finest on the first attempt!
Even the lettering - the ES on the moonphase - is horribly amateurish.
I know it's free hand, and at small scale, but even among amateur hobbyists in scale modelling, and miniature painting, there are people who regularly do work way better than that.
So why don't Bamford have anyone who can do it?
Made me laugh that, perfect summary.
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"Dog's-Knob Red, hand-applied by Stevie Wonder? Certainly Sir, that will be £5,000."
I'm in the wrong line of work.
The unnamed friend is most probably Eric Clapton, he said he was his guitar hero when he was a boy and I remember seeing somewhere Eric was a collector of watches.
I bet he thought Ed got the humbrol model paints out and decided gloss Ferrari red would look great, I’m sure Eric would have preferred a meaningful engraving on the case back.
I'm sure I read somewhere that the 'unnamed friend' was Damien Rice, not Eric. Happy to be corrected if I'm wrong, of course.
Still, I can understand that whoever it was would like it kept quiet, for obvious reasons
______
Jim.
That cannot be real. Absolutely awful. In the history case of watches, this has to be the worst ever.
A friend of mine has a Bamford Rolex milgauss (its all black) and ruined in my opinion.
“Clearly Rolex decided not to bother any more...”
As others have already said, Rolex have always taken a dim view of these Bamford customisations: Rolex never supplied watches to them and refuse to service them.
It is concerning that legitimate collaborations with LVMH may lead buyers of Bamford Rolex watches (who don’t do their homework), to think there won’t be resale and servicing issues with this junk.
I would think it’s obvious that Bamford’s move away from Rolex has been a decision of necessity now that professional models are in short supply.
They’d have to pad their obscene mark-ups further if they’d have to pay grey-dealer prices to get their stock, if they could even get the stock.
That Ed Sheeran Patek says it all: money can’t buy taste. I’m not a Patek fan but what a waste.
Ed’s Patek shown does not look like that in reality the zoomed images and light make it look at its worst. In the flesh it’s alright
RIAC
That first bit is not exactly true, I have a friend who was going to collaborate with Bamford on some straps and stuff, and discussed their business at quite some length with Bamford Junior. They definitely used to get new stock direct.
Rolex may have taken a dim view of them, officiially, but it didn't used to stop them selling to Bamford, until more recently.
I agree it may have stopped due to shortage, and that servicing at Rolex HQ has always been an issue.
Dogs knob red!!! Made me chuckle that!
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I met the Lord two weeks ago....
He wasn’t wearing one - that much I do know
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How did he get them 'direct' when they don't sell watches direct to the public and they are not an authorised dealer (the only people they do sell to)?
I can quite believe Bamford got their hands on new stock, via dealings with authorised agents acting in contravention of their contracts, or via grey dealers, but that is not 'direct'. Rolex do not supply watches to such outfits in the manner you suggest.
As my late father used to say. . . A fool and his money are easily parted.
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