Michelin x Bamford timepiece features strap made from recycled Pilot Sport tires

MANILA: Michelin and Bamford London, the "world's ultimate destination for personalized luxury products," have collaborated to develop an exclusive 133-piece limited edition timepiece, one for each year since Michelin was established in 1889.

The Michelin x Bamford B347 Pilot Sport is an interesting combination of the two brands' creative spirit and collaborative expertise, continuing to impress and amaze their customers.

In 2021, Bamford London introduced the Swiss-made Bamford B347 model, which marked the brand's next step forward in terms of cutting-edge materials and design parameters. The Michelin x Bamford B347 Pilot Sport takes another step forward with new materials and design choices that bring the two brands closer together.

“What started out as a lightbulb moment, stood next to a lineup of Porsches at a car event with a friend who works at Michelin, has developed into this stunning display of two pioneering brands. The racing-inspired design, lightweight carbon body, integrating the recycled tire rubber and marking this by adding the tread pattern from their latest tire — it all works,” Bamford London Founder George Bamford stated.

The Michelin x Bamford B347 Pilot Sport is a monopusher chronograph with a Sellita SW510 automatic movement housed in a 41.5-mm black cutting-edge forged carbon casing. The start-stop-reset function is provided by a single push-button at two o'clock, and the car-related references only start there.

The tachymeter has a racing-inspired checkered pattern, symbolizing a  start/finish flag. This timepiece will be available in time for this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed, the only event of the year when Michelin will not be wearing its usual blue and yellow corporate colors in the Supercar Paddock. The seconds and subdial hands, however, are painted in the signature Michelin yellow.

The black dial has white accents and illuminating hour and minute hands. The white sub-dials are a nod to Michelin's newest brand campaign, which depicts tires on vehicles as white, cartoon-style circles because tires used to be white.

The Michelin yellow also appears on the strap, which is created from recycled Michelin Pilot Sport 5 test tires. The material comes from Michelin's Ladoux research and development center in Clermont-Ferrand, France. The strap contains a genuine Pilot Sport 5 tread pattern, specifically a 225/40ZR18 (92Y) tire. The retro BMW E36 and E46 M3, the British-built Lotus Evora and 3-Eleven Models, the Morgan Aero 8, and several generations of the Volkswagen Golf GTI hot hatch would all use this size tire.

Bamford London and Michelin worked with Greenology, a pioneer in full circle, sustainable solutions for end-of-life tires, to produce the unique watch strap.

Greenology Director Laura Hepburn said, “It has been a privilege to work in collaboration with Michelin and Bamford, who are fellow innovative forward-thinking companies, to responsibly deal with tyres in a whole new way. This collaboration is an excellent example of working together to help create a transition to net zero and a greener, cleaner tire industry.”

Adding to the unique elements of the timepiece is the caseback and custom box that feature a heritage “race winner” Bibendum (Michelin Man) that is usually reserved for Michelin's exclusive use.

“Bamford’s expertise in high precision manufacturing, advanced materials and eye for detail are traits we share, making this collaboration an obvious choice. It’s also a statement, highlighting Michelin’s presence as a lifestyle brand. We’re more than tires. Michelin sets the standards in food, hotels and experiences. George and I thought, why stop there? There is always a demand for Bamford’s brand collaborations, especially when produced in limited numbers. This joint project has allowed us to create something aspirational, that represents Michelin today, all while putting some R&D samples of our latest tires — the Pilot Sport 5 — to good use,” Michelin UK Social Media and Influencer Manager Dan Smith stated.

The Michelin x Bamford B347 Pilot Sport is priced at £2,500 and is available at Bamford London (bamfordlondon.com).

Photos from Michelin

Also read: Michelin unveils much-improved tire for light commercial vehicles