Vintage Heuer, which specialises in selling fine and rare vintage watches, particularly from Heuer and TAG Heuer, has created a bespoke TAG Heuer Monaco in conjunction with Bamford Watch Department (BWD).
BWD is the world’s first authorised customisation partner for LVMH brands TAG Heuer, Bulgari and Zenith.
Vintage Heuer owner Jonathan Scatchard has been following the progress of BWD since 2000, when he and George Bamford — both self-proclaimed watch obsessives — met to chat about their collections.
One of the watches they have discussed over the years is the TAG Heuer Monaco ‘The Dark Lord’, which Mr Scatchard has tried and failed to buy on two occasions in recent years.
The all-black Monaco is one of the rarest Heuers and at one point held the public record for the most expensive Heuer ever sold.
When BWD was anointed last year as an official customiser for TAG Heuer, Mr Bamford and Mr Scatchard cooked up a plan to create their own version of The Dark Lord.
“It seemed like the perfect opportunity and, with BWD’s expertise, the Monaco proved to be a perfect watch to work on. We changed the red to orange as black and orange has always been my favourite colour combination. George and his team added the perfect twist by adding chequered flag elements which feature on the hard to find original boxes,” Mr Scatchard explains.
Vintage Heuer is offering the one-off piece for sale for £8,500, and is effectively acting as an agent for BWD and taking a small commission when it sells.
It’s not dark enough.