A select group of Watch enthusiasts – some of us ‘watch geeks’ – gathered at the Bamford Watch Department’s Mayfair ‘Hive’ to be greeted by George and project partner James Thomson, Founder of Black Badger, creator of extraordinary objects from (often) bizarre materials.
The bizarre material that is at the heart of the new collection is Fordite, the commonly used term to describe the collected overspray that builds up in the industrial paint bays of car factories over many, many years. The Fordite material used in this collaboration has come from the Ford factories in Michigan, USA, from the 1970-1990s era.
This material has formed entirely unique dials for this 10-piece limited edition TAG Heuer Carrera watch collection available from BWD.
It was fascinating to hear from James Thompson about this exciting material how it was discovered and how it differs depending on where it comes from. He explained that when he visited the McLaren factory, he discovered that the Fordite was much ‘thinner’ and more brittle than from other manufacturers. This was due to the fact that in order to reduce the weight of their ‘supercars’ McLaren use extremely thin paint.
“Thank you to Instagram for helping me to discover the wonderful world of @blackbadger. A fantastic guy, I am so happy and proud we are working together on our first project, of hopefully many. I love how each watch is a unique piece that can never be replicated.” George Bamford, Founder, Bamford Watch Department
These one-of-a-kind Fordite TAG Heuer Carrera watches can be purchased from www.bamfordwatchdepartment.com (RRP £5,500)