“Who doesn’t love Sesame Street,” says George Bamford, Founder of Bamford London. “The brand has reached far and wide, and we are so happy to partner with Sesame Street and have these iconic characters on the dial of our watches. We love the wonderful nostalgia these characters provide and the splash of fun and colour which can brighten up your day when you look down at your wrist.”
No brand encapsulates 'fun' in watches quite like our dear friends down at Bamford Watch Department. At this point their famous Bamford GMT x Popeye is a cult icon, and having spent time with one of their more traditional GMT's, we can see why...
This latest release plays on the cult icons of children's TV, the characters from Sesame Street. The three characters they have chosen are Big Bird, Cookie Monster and of course, Elmo. Big Bird has been adorned on the dial of one of their Mayfair GMT's, whilst the Mayfair Sport has been given an even more playful touch with the inclusion of Cookie Monster and Elmo.
three undisputed cultural icons of TV...
Bamford x Sesame Street Big Bird
As with all of these pieces, the characters of Sesame Street take centre stage. On the GMT, Big Bird is larger than life with his feathered arms moving around the dial as the hour and minute hands, which I find just incredibly fun. I would defy anyone to look down at their wrist, see this and not grin with happiness. The playfulness of this watch continues with the yellow and black colour ways on a matte black case and bracelet which accentuate the bright fun character.
The iconic Sesame Street logo features on the dial and an orange ring has been added
accentuating the characters stance, making Big Bird almost pop right out of the dial. Continuing the playful design, many of the hour markers have been replaced by feathers. After the recent car crash otherwise known as the Audemars Piguet x Black Panther release, I think the AP design team need to tap up Mr Bamford for some tips on how to encapsulate a character in a watch, as Bamford have knocked this out of the park where AP failed so catastrophically...
This Bamford x Sesame Street Big Bird GMT has all the features of the original Bamford London GMT with a Swiss Made automatic Sellita SW330-2 movement and 24-hour GMT hand function, allowing users to set a home time zone when travelling.
The GMT hand has been inspired by Big Bird’s striped legs. This design provides a vibrant splash of cartoon colour on the dial, contrasted against a 316L grade matte black case measuring 40mm in diameter and 11.2mm in thickness.
Housed in a special bright yellow packaging, this 20-piece limited edition Bamford x Sesame Street Big Bird GMT is available directly from Bamford London and selected global stockists. The Bamford x Sesame Street Big Bird GMT watch has an RRP of £1,600 (including VAT).
Bamford x Sesame Street Cookie Monster Mayfair
Next up we delve into the 'ultimate affordable summer sports watch' (I know the nickname needs some work) realm of the Bamford Mayfair Date. Again a watch that we have been lucky to have spend some considerable time with and frankly really cant see a better option for a fun, do anything summer watch. This first release of the two to adorn the Mayfair Date features none other than the cultural icon that is the Cookie Monster.
“COOKIE!”… Cookie Monster is best known for his voracious appetite and the Bamford x Sesame Street Cookie Monster Mayfair Date perfectly represents his insatiable craving for cookies. Again like with the GMT, Cookie Monster takes centre stage on the dial, with his arms as the hour and minute hands move around the dial pointing to cookies (some already nibbled…) placed by the hour markers.
As with the GMT, the design has been laid on a matte black case and bezel and paired with a blue nato strap, Cookie Monster’s blue colour ways flow throughout including blue rings on the dial. The date wheel has been removed creating a balanced circular design, and showcases the iconic Sesame Street logo. For me, whilst I am a fan of the date wheel placement on the Mayfair Date, I think the removal of the date wheel here is such a thoughtful design choice. Whilst their is no faulting the convenience of having the date on your watch, here it would only serve to clutter the dial. When such an iconic character is taking up all but a tiny portion of the dial, taking up the precious remaining dial space with a date would have been a real oversight here. I think it is much better taken up by an un-nibbled cookie!
The Bamford Mayfair Date is the second edition of Bamford London’s signature timepiece, the Bamford Mayfair. Following the success of the first edition of the Mayfair, the team at Bamford London went to the next level by adding the Swiss Ronda 715 Date Quartz Movement. Whilst most of you will turn your nose up at the use of a Quartz movement entirely, I would not be so quick to dismiss it. The Bamford Mayfair Date watch is dependable and has the added benefit of being waterproof to 100m. This further emphasises my claim of it being the best, affordable summer watch.
Limited to 50 pieces each and housed in a special bright yellow packaging, the Bamford x Sesame Street Cookie Monster Mayfair Date is available directly from Bamford London and selected global stockists. The Bamford x Sesame Street Cookie Monster Mayfair Date has an RRP of £475 (including VAT).
Bamford x Sesame Street Elmo Mayfair Sport
And to save the best (in my opinion) till last, we have the Bamford x Sesame Street Elmo Mayfair. This is by far my favourite, not only because of Elmo being my favourite character of the three, but also because of the vibrant red colourway. Known for his laughter and optimistic view, Elmo is surrounded by musical notes instead of hour markers on the dial of the watch. The red high impact polymer case, bezel and rubber strap with black accents compliment Elmo’s same colour ways. The iconic Sesame Street logo features on the dial and a white ring has been added to match the white minute markers whilst also bringing Elmo to life and almost popping right out of the dial.
Enthusiastic, friendly and cheerful, Elmo is every part of this watch with his arms telling the time as the hour and minute hands.
The Bamford x Sesame Street Elmo Mayfair Sport watch has all the features of the original Mayfair Sport with a Miyota Quartz Calibre 2035 movement and 100m of water resistance, again making it a perfect summer watch! It comes on a rubber strap with a unique wickerway function and the LumiNova indices mean you can see the timepiece at any time of the day.
Limited to 50 pieces and housed in a special bright yellow packaging, the Bamford x Sesame Street Elmo Mayfair Sport is available directly from Bamford London and selected global stockists. The Bamford x Sesame Street Elmo Mayfair Sport watch has an RRP of £400 (including VAT).
As with all Bamford watches, superb packaging yet again...
“We’re delighted to be working with Bamford London on this amazing collection of watches. Their reputation for great design and a high-quality product is a perfect fit with one of the world’s favourite entertainment brands.” Rob Corney, Group Managing Director, Bulldog Licensing Ltd., the leading European agency which represents Sesame Street in the UK and Eire.
These are a complete knockout, and we will be getting hands on with these so stay tuned for a hands on review! But honestly, given the affordable price and the iconic figures adorning the dial, we recommend you snap these up whilst you have the chance! We cannot see these hanging around for very long (if they haven't already sold out). On the subject of that... George if you are reading this, any chance you could set aside an Elmo for me? Thanks!
Felix Arnold
Editor and Co-Founder