British Fashion Brand Bonds With Bamford For The Thomas Pink Automatic Titanium GMT Limited Edition
Bamford is the king of collaborations, but the British brand has come a long way from coating customers’ watches in its proprietary Military Grade Titanium Coating (MGTC) layer. These days, Bamford creates bespoke watch designs for a variety of applications. Its Automatic GMT watch is helpful for travelers and global liaisons alike. Therefore, Bamford’s latest collab with British shirt-maker Thomas Pink and its smart attire collection fits the lifestyle of business jet-setters. I own a Thomas Pink shirt and admire its quality, so I was keen to see what the combined efforts with Bamford could lead to.
We’ve seen similar collaborations with Bamford and the Peanuts comic before, featuring the Snoopy character as the hands — no, not the Silver Snoopy, which has an entirely different story. Today’s announcement subdues the exuberance by excluding cartoon characters from taking over the time-telling duty. Instead, the button-up presentation limits the flourish to a flash of pink on the GMT hand’s tip, the seconds hand, and the 24-hour indication. The pink accents certainly live up to the Thomas Pink namesake. The limited application is hidden in person if you’re not overly fond of the color. Curiously, the “PINK” element of the logo is only rendered in black or white, depending on the contrasting dial color.
Bamford × Thomas Pink Automatic Titanium GMT
Despite the monochromatic logo, the prominence of the Thomas Pink text is undoubtedly noticeable. When picking the watch off the desk, I had to be sure I was wearing it the correct way up. We’ve been conditioned to expect typography to appear heavier at the top of the dial rather than the bottom. It’s like left-hand crowns, which can cause us to pause before we recognize how we should place the watch on the wrist. Speaking of which, the Automatic Titanium GMT features a crown at 10 o’clock to operate the internal rotating 24-hour bezel. At 3 o’clock, the mechanism crown adjusts the time with hacking seconds, an independent 24-hour hand, and a quick-set date.
To switch it up from previous editions and as a nod to Bamford’s coating material, the Thomas Pink model uses a 40mm matte titanium cushion-shaped case. With a slender 11.7mm case thickness, the lightweight metal gives a sporty feel that is ideal for sports and leisure. The 100m water resistance also adds to the casual capabilities of the watch, and with a 46.7mm lug-to-lug, it’s a comfortable everyday piece. Two 20mm strap options are provided as part of the package. These black fabric and rubber straps further enhance the versatility. Either option fits the black and white dial equally well, and the quick-release pins allow for tool-free strap changes. Speaking of dials, it was hard to find a preference between the contrasting dial variations, but thankfully, both feature matching date discs.
Final thoughts
Following the long-term wear of steel bracelet watches, it was uplifting to sport a lightweight titanium watch. The case back is stainless steel with a matte gray finish to match the case. It certainly isn’t impossible to engrave titanium with the same Thomas Pink and Bamford logos, so it’s a shame that the case back differs from the case material. Behind the case back is the Sellita SW330-2 powering the GMT watch. The 25-jewel automatic movement operates at 28,800vph and offers 56 hours of power reserve. The Bamford × Thomas Pink Automatic Titanium GMT is a limited edition of 60 pieces — 30 in black and 30 in white — for £1,700. Both editions are available exclusively from the Thomas Pink shop on Jermyn Street, London, and online at Thomas Pink’s site. You can learn more through Bamford’s site here.
