Seiko 5 Sports x Bamford Limited Edition

Seiko Goes Back to the Future with Sub-$850 Bamford Limited Edition

By Nick Hall - News

Published: 30 Sep 2025

Readtime: 5 min

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Japanese watchmaker Seiko has teamed up with U.K.-based Bamford Watch Department to create a collaborative version of the classic Seiko 5 Sports.
The limited edition watch reinterprets the iconic SKX series and is inspired by Bamford founder George Bamford’s vision of a journey to paradise.
It features a bold retro-futuristic design, along with a translucent blue skeleton dial and neon accents.
The Seiko 5 Sports x Bamford Limited Edition is priced at £400, with only 2,025 pieces available worldwide.

Ask any watch fan, and they will tell you, what you see is what you get with Seiko. The Japanese watchmaker is famous for producing rugged, durable and affordable timepieces that deliver exceptional quality, sans the opulence. Models such as the much-loved Prospex line are revered for their no-fuss approach to design, focusing on robust construction, premium architecture and simplistic layouts that provide uncluttered and inoffensive aesthetics. But every so often, Seiko does something special.

Teaming up with British luxury custom producer Bamford Watch Department, Seiko has unveiled a bold new take on its best-selling Seiko 5 Sports model. Vibrant, colourful and bursting with retro-vintage charm, the latest collaboration harks back to an era of exploration, when design transitioned from analogue traditionalism to digital avant-garde inspiration.

It also marks the first time the two brands have collaborated on a piece, which does seem like a surprise. Bamford, the brainchild of industry favourite George Bamford, has previously worked on limited edition watches for iconic watchmakers TAG Heuer, Chopard and Bremont, not to mention the absolutely stunning recreation of Girard-Perregaux’s 1969 ‘Deep Diver’ from last year. Much like that model, the new Seiko collaboration pulls much of its design language from the archive books.

Seiko 5 Sports x Bamford Limited Edition

Inspired by George Bamford’s vision of a journey to paradise, the latest collaboration is a reinterpretation of the iconic SKX series. The straightforward dial layout is gone, with the custom watch producer instead opting for a striking ‘retro-futuristic’ design, complete with a hyper-colour translucent blue skeleton dial. This is paired brilliantly with neon orange highlights applied across the bezel, dial, and NATO strap.

It’s a vivid combination that is undeniably eye-catching, drawing attention in an overt, but not ostentatious fashion. To me, the colourway feels reminscent of ’70s and ’80s fishing motifs, and I can imagine it wouldn’t be out of place on the wrist of Jacques Cousteau. This retro styling continues on the watch face, with Seiko and Bamford reviving a classic design component through the use of an ‘archive-inspired’ rotating bezel. Crafted from black aluminium, the bezel appears to be a direct reference to the Seiko 5 Sports lineup from the 1960s, again referencing the collection’s esteemed history.

The indexes and hands, which are direct recreations of those used in the 1980s SKX series, are also coated with Lumibrite. These fluorescent accents aren’t just for aesthetic purposes; they also pull double duty with the watch revealing an entirely different expression under black light.

You’ll also find subtle Bamford logos at 6 o’clock and on the strap hardware; however, this piece’s hidden gem is the day-date wheel. Clearly visible via the translucent dial, the day-date function alternates between English and Japanese kanji, offering a playful nod to the origins of both Seiko and Bamford.

From an architecture perspective, the latest release doesn’t stray too far from the traditional SKX model. The model measures 42.5mm in diameter and boasts a thickness of 14.2mm; robust enough to tackle the harshest bumps and knocks without showing signs of wear and tear. As you would expect from Seiko, the stainless steel construction is stellar, and the new piece uses the brand’s proprietary Hardlex crystal. Inside, the Seiko 5 Sports x Bamford Watch Department Limited Edition is powered by the in-house Seiko Calibre 4R36 automatic movement, which dishes up 41 hours of power reserve.

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Pricing and Availability

The Seiko 5 Sports x Bamford Watch Department Limited Edition is priced at £400, translating to roughly AUD$815 at the time of writing. Considering that a standard SKX model Seiko will set you back around AUD$695, it’s a stellar investment for a limited edition collaboration, but then again, you’d expect nothing less from the Japanese masters of affordability. The timepiece will be available online starting October 2025, and it is limited to just 2,2025 pieces worldwide. If you want a piece of vibrant, unique horological history, you’d best move quickly.

View at Seiko

View at Bamford Watch Department