Private Lives GEORGE BAMFORD

Growing up on a 1,700-acre Gloucestershire estate, with swanky holidays on the family yacht and decadent Gatsby-esque birthday parties, George, the son of the billionaire Lord Bamford, the chairman of JCB, a multi-national agricultural-and-construction-equipment manufacturing company, and his glamorous wife, Lady Bamford, could easily have become a playboy boozehound. But his parents instilled in him and his elder siblings, Alice and Jo, a rigorous work ethic. After assisting photographer Rankin and graduating from Parsons, in New York City, George returned to London and began taking slick fashion and still-life shots for Daylesford, his mother's burgeoning organicfood business, and for Bamford, her women's clothing-and-body-products line. Then she "put me in charge of accessories for the men's-wear business, Bamford & Sons," says George. "I created a cabinet of curiosities, filled with books, leather goods, and vintage watches." Enter: watches. On his 18th birthday, his parents had given him a Rolex Daytona, which began his love affair with timepieces. Even though the wait list for a new one is four years, in 2002 he was crestfallen to see a Daytona on the wrist of every man at a dinner party he was attending. So he decided to rectify the matter. "Personalization has always been my mantra," he says, and to prove his point he pulls out a Goyard wallet hand-sprayed with "Bamford." In 2003, George bought a vintage GMT and a vintage Submariner, and, using knowledge gleaned from hanging around JCB engineers, had the watches coated with a matte-black, anti-friction, non-lubricant product used for drills in the mining industry. "I gave one to my dad, I kept the other, and we wore them on holiday in Sardinia." George returned from the Italian jaunt with 25 watch orders. Eleven years later, his Bamford Watch Department—which will move to a flve-story town house in London's Mayfair this fall—has turned out highly coveted Bamford limited-edition Rolex, Audemars Piguet, and Patek Philippe watches. His latest venture is the Bamford Cycle Department—another foray into bespoke accessories. A keen cyclist, George set out to build a personalized bike tailored to his body geometry. He used the strongest Japanese carbon fiber and gel-filled handlebars. On his first ride, he "did 50 miles without even realizing. I didn't have a sore bum, my hands didn't hurt—everything fit perfectly." He posted a picture on Instagram and, presto, orders for the $14,075 bike came flooding in. After just five months, unique Bamford cycles are being shipped all over the world, including a shiny red frame to NYC., "for a lady who sent her Chanel lipstick and wanted us to match it," says George gleefully. —ALICE B-B