Bamford x Badgerworks TAG Heuer Carrera Tropical Coffee Dial (Made of REAL Coffee)

Let’s say that this watch won’t be everybody’s cup of tea… maybe some of you won’t find it brew-tiful… Maybe, this watch will make you feel mugged? Indeed, thanks to these (not-so-profound) puns, you’ll get the point with this watch, which is the rather special result of a collaboration between customizer Bamford Watch Department and luminescent materials specialist Black Badger (a.k.a James Thompson), who wanted to create their own tropical coffee-coloured dial. So they took it literally and created a dial made… of ground coffee. 

The base for this new Bamford x Badgerworks piece is nothing new or special, as we’re talking about a relatively accessible and simple TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 5, a well-established sports watch of 41mm with the signature design of the collection and powered by the automatic Calibre 5 – a Sellita SW 220-1 or ETA 2824. However, we’re talking about Bamford Watch Department and Badgerworks, two companies that don’t do things like the rest of the industry.

Starting from the case, this BWD x Black Badger Carrera retains its polished case, which is however finished with light grey Military Grade Titanium Coating (MGTC). To complement the tropical look, the original alligator strap is changed for a brown, smooth calfskin strap with cream-coloured stitchings but retain the original steel folding clasp.

What really changes is that this watch isn’t decaf. On the contrary, it is a strong, well-roasted black coffee that will wake you up in the morning… The base concept starts from tropical dials, vintage dials once black and that turned a dark shade of chocolate brown when exposed to sunlight over many years. Bamford wanted to create its own modern version of such a tropical dial and turned to Thompson/Black Badger, who had an idea that certainly is a bit out of the box. A tropical coffee dial made of ground coffee… makes sense (sort of). James says that they “are exploring materials outside of the traditional realm of watchmaking,” which is certainly true.

The dials are made from coffee specially roasted and ground for the occasion at Cafe Da Matteo, a famous roastery and cafe in Göteborg. The special Badgerworks coffee was then formed into dial blanks, as coffee is cast into a resin and hand-finished to bring out the natural lustre and colours of the material. To emphasize this material, all the indexes and tracks have been removed, as well as the day-date function, and the logo and markings are gold-coloured.

This objectively bold Bamford x Badgerworks TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 5 Tropical Coffee Dial is a limited edition of 20 pieces, available from Bamford Watch Department. It will be priced at GBP 5,500. More details at www.bamfordwatchdepartment.com.