► Three watches that have fun
► From Bamford to Timex
► Snoopy content included
These three recent releases remind us that we’ve been taking watches way too seriously. They don’t all need to shout a straight-faced message about their own intrinsic virtues of quality, precision and ruggedness, nor remind us of the glamorous, adventurous professionals who use them as tools. This may be the first CAR watch column that doesn’t refer to divers or racing drivers.
1. Bamford London ‘Skater’ Snoopy GMT £1600
Swatch and Timex will both sell you a Snoopy watch for under £100, and Omega for rather more, but we like this new Snoopy-dialled version of Bamford’s GMT. The Snoopy is huge, you get Woodstock on the second hand, and the watch is presented in a rainbow-coloured miniature doghouse.
bamfordlondon.com
2. Timex Reissue Digital LCA £135
Someone at Timex really knows what they’re doing, mining the back catalogue for absolute bangers and putting them back into production largely unchanged and at sensible prices. This reissue of the LCA – for ‘liquid crystal analogue’ – even keeps the period-correct weedy single-bulb backlight. Fiddling with those tiny buttons will take you straight back to 1983.
timex.co.uk
3. Nomos Club Campus from £1100
Nomos bills this watch as the ideal gift for graduation or some other rite of passage. With prices from £1100 for the 36mm hand-wound version we don’t see why this should only be for the kids. That price is a bargain for the artistry that goes into these under-the-radar German watches. Call it a belated gift to yourself for passing at least some of your O-levels.
nomos-glashuette.com