George Bamford built his reputation turning luxury watches into personal statements — taking Rolexes, Pateks, and APs and coating them in his now-signature Diamond-Like Carbon finishes from a London co-working space. But his latest project with Seiko is a little bit different. Instead of customizing someone else’s design, Bamford Watch Department collaborated with the Japanese giant to create something entirely new from the ground up. The result is the SBSA315, a Seiko 5 Sports that pulls from deep archive references while pushing the platform into retro-futuristic territory we haven’t seen before.
Archive Raiding Done Right
For this model, Bamford went digging through Seiko’s history, pulling the angular indices and distinctive handset from an ’80s SKX diver, then borrowing the bezel design from a ’60s Seiko 5 Sports model.
In terms of new features, however, the translucent blue dial reveals the bilingual day-date disc rotating underneath (alternating between English and Japanese kanji), with the current day glowing brighter through the cutout window. The applied indices get the LumiBrite treatment, while the minute and seconds hands sport that neon orange that’s become the watch’s signature accent.
The unidirectional aluminum bezel follows that vintage template as well, with orange marking the first 20 minutes of elapsed time. The cohesive design language extends to the NATO strap, where black fabric gets punctuated by thin turquoise stripes flanking a matching orange center stripe.
The UV Trick
Where this watch really separates itself is under blacklight. Every orange element dial accents, bezel markings, hands, even the strap’s center stripe — glows under UV light. The playfulness certainly leans into the “paradise” theme Bamford envisioned for the project, and falls in line with some of the watchmaker’s other models.
The see-through caseback continues the translucent motif, though the large “BWD” logo blocks most of the view of that workhorse Seiko 4R36 automatic (with manual winding capability) movement inside.
Spec Sheet
Model: Seiko 5 Sports SBSA315 Bamford Edition
Case Size: 42.5mm
Case Thickness: 13.4mm
Lug-to-Lug: 46mm
Case Material: Stainless steel
Movement: Caliber 4R36 automatic with manual winding
Water Resistance: 100m
Crystal: Curved Hardlex
Lume: LumiBrite on hands, indices, and day disc; UV-reactive orange accents throughout
Strap: Black nylon NATO with blue and luminous orange stripes
Limited Edition: 2,025 pieces
Pricing & Availability
Limited to 2,025 pieces worldwide, the Bamford-edition 5 Sports SBSA315 hits Seiko boutiques in November for $460.
Recap
Seiko x Bamford 5 Sports SBSA315
Seiko teamed up with London’s Bamford Watch Department to create a seriously cool limited edition 5 Sports that mixes vintage Seiko design elements with a translucent blue dial, UV-reactive orange accents, and bilingual day-date display.
