Podcast Podcast, Season 2, Episode 8: The moment George Bamford fell in love with watches

There are moments when time stands still. Moments where you find yourself on the verge of greatness. Moments that stand the test of time. The Edge is a series of conversations where extraordinary people tell intimate stories of one moment that changed everything for them. A world record, a world championship, an epiphany, a life-changing decision. They relive their moments, minute by minute. How they overcame pressure, fear, pain and pushed themselves to the limit. To The Edge. 

Our guest in this episode is George Bamford, founder of Bamford Watch Department. He shares his genuine passion for watches and explores the indelible relationship between TAG Heuer and racing.

Presented by Nicholas Biebuyck, Heritage Director at TAG Heuer, you’ll discover the moment George fell in love with watches, the allure of elusive timepieces, and why he loves TAG Heuer. Since this podcast is all about timepieces (especially TAG Heuer Monacos), we found the ideal setting to have a chat with George: the 2022 Grand Prix Historique de Monaco.

Here are a few snippets to put you on the starting line and get the adrenaline pumping. But don’t forget to subscribe to our Podcast so you can listen to the full, unfiltered episode later. The Edge is a series of conversations with extraordinary people operating at the edge of possibility. It’s about the thin line between taking part and tipping into victory; it’s about what gives us our edge and what we can do to go beyond it.

My first memory of a watch was Steve McQueen in Le Mans, with those wonderful sub registers, that blue dial. That’s kind of really how it started. My first real kind of lightning bolt with watches was on a non-TAG Heuer brand. I stripped it and rebuilt it over Christmas. That was me learning about how watches work. I’ve always loved the design of watches. I’ve loved what goes into watches. That beating heart of the movement…I always wanted to figure out.

Jack Heuer really solidified the relationship between racing and Tag Heuer. When I’m sitting in a car and I’m like, “What should I wear when I drive?”—I think of a TAG Heuer. Because you just put it on your wrist and it fits. The dash timers in the car are a TAG Heuer. I’ve got an Autavia dash timer in my car and it just makes me smile. There’s a proper connection with cars.

So for me, the Dark Lord with that wonderful black case, with that little pop of orange. It’s just one of those amazing watches. I also think, because we’re talking about Monaco, we’ve got to talk about the V4. I love the V4 and I just can’t find one! I think those two Monacos inspired the TAG Heuer x Bamford.

[Collaborating on] The Monaco was honestly one of the best experiences because it was one of my first experiences inside TAG Heuer. And it was just a [great] team to work with, talk with, and just be educated about its history. I’ve always been a TAG Heuer fan. It was just back and forth and there was “lockdown working” between teams that was quite amazing, because our communication was very fluid. It was like, “Hey, we love this!” It’s wonderful working with a team where you just go, “Yeah, they get me and I get them” and we know what we’re doing.

You know, I’ve already said something like the “Dark Lord” is absolutely amazing. I love the Regatta because I think that case, the design, the black, the way that it plays. It’s just one of those odd watches that really is beautiful. And then I would say something like the Solunar. So you’ve asked me a question that, literally, I could tell you about 20 references that I want to come back!