Are these highly customized “all black” watches a fad or here to stay?

_____Black-out concept _________________________________Bamford & Son___

I have seen some news and Internet discussion (see here-PW, here-Selectism, here-Business Montres, here-Hodinkee) over the past couple years about 2 companies operating in “aftermarket” watch customization of a very specific kind – that is, the creation of “all black” watches – so I thought I would take the opportunity to give you a quick run down.   Bamford & Sons of Sloan Square in London first offered their all black Rolex Daytona, all black Rolex Submariner, and all black Rolex GMT in 2007, and have since expanded their offering to include an all black Rolex Milgauss, all black Rolex Explorer II, all black Rolex Yacht-Master, and most recently an all black Tag Heuer Monaco.  Black Out concept, based in Switzerland, was created in 2007 and showcases a variety of all black watches on their website as well as some pretty sweet looking exotic automobiles, too.

Interestingly, these two companies have quite a different approach to their “all black” watches, which I have compared and contrasted for your here:

Although Bamford & Sons seems a bit more “polished” in their presentation (fancier, more functional website, etc.), I have to give the edge to Black-Out concept for their “edge” and attitude when it comes to an aftermarket all black watch. I also like that the Black-Out concept is reversible (or so the company claims), and you can use a watch from your existing collection (or any watch , really) whereas Bamford is limited to just two selections the Rolex Submariner and the Tag Heuer Monaco.  And finally, I like some of Black-out concept’s other work as well, namely this blacked out Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano

But I digress!  As for me, well….the traditional watch enthusiast in me finds many of these “customised” “all black” watches, particularly the Rolexes, to be very unsightly.  In many ways it makes the watch look like a cheap counterfeit.  But hey, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?  And if someone wants to “black out” their Rolex Milguass, Submariner, GMT, Deepsea, or Daytona, then by all means go for it!  Undoubtedly the demand for these watches is small – which is why the brands do not and are unlikely to ever produce their own – well, some brands do offer “all black” models, but I think the attraction here is actually the whole “aftermarket” concept and being able to mod your luxury watch just because you can!

So, are customized “all black” watches a fad or will they be yesterday’s news before we know it?  Feel free to post a comment below and let me know what you think!

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