While Bamford Watch Department's watches aren't considered 'canon' (and thus are not appraised by the Council of Considered Opinion or eligible for C.O.C.O. Watch of the Year inclusion) their major collaborations are worthy of reporting nonetheless. Last year they produced a fairly Godawful green Carrera (RUF/High Snobiety) that had me reaching for the sickbag, but I have to say this is much, much better!
Wes Lang is, apparently (and rather strangely in this day and age), an artist without a Wikipedia page. But I do know he has collaborated with Kanye West in the recent past - or rather Kanye licensed images from him for use on his tour merchandise. My interest in him was piqued when I noticed on this collection of small works the text 'No Mercy' which clearly comes from the first Slayer album 'Show No Mercy' (1983). I assumed this meant he produced this text for the album cover, but given that he would have been 11 years old at the time I find that slightly hard to believe, so quite what that means I don't really know. Did he just copy it?
Regardless, this watch is pretty cool and like I said earlier much, much better than that RUF/High Snobiety abomination. It appears to be broadly similar to the (unofficial Jack Heuer 90th) gold reverse-panda released at the tail end of 2022, but with some modifications. Notably the reversal of the panda dial, the removal of the date window and the deletion of the 6 o'clock running seconds (and at least from these pictures a more matt finish on the gold), this has obviously been done to provide more space for Wes Lang's artwork.
According to the Bamford website this is '...a recurring illustration through Lang’s work; a salute to the race car, depicting a tyre adorned with wings and a flaming skull, a decadent continuation of his vision and his memento mori drawings.' I have to say on first glance it looks more like a 'Hell's Angels' kind of design, but on closer inspection it does look more like a car wheel than a bike's...
Finally, the dial is adorned with both Wes Lang and Bamford's name in place of the the usual Heuer 02 & 80 Hours text. Combined with a bespoke strap with red stitching and a cool wooden box, this is a limited edition of just 15 pieces which is available from the Bamford website priced at £19,000.
It's almost a pity this one isn't eligible for the 'C.O.C.O. Watch of the Year', but unfortunately the rules say that the watch must have a unique part number - which it would if it was issued by TAG Heuer and not simply modified by Bamford from an existing watch. Still, it's definitely one of the nicest gold Carreras I've ever seen.
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