The Land Rover Defender is a famously rugged SUV, whether an individual is taking an off-road adventure or serving the military as a troop carrier. The luxury watchmaker and customizer Bamford pays tribute to this legacy by partnering with Land Rover to create the LR002 watch. It's limited to just 100 examples and available exclusively through watch blog and retailer Hodinkee for a $1,700 asking price.
In the same way that a Defender can carry occupants on the highway or through the mud, the LR002 has cues from classic outdoor field watches but looks modest enough for daily wearing. It features a titanium case with a black diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating that adds a satin finish and additional scratch protection. The dial is a darker shade of black, and the white indices use Super-LumiNova to be easily visible at night. The "LR002" and "100M" marks on the bottom half are in Bamford's signature shade of blue.
Gallery: Bamford x Land Rover LR002 Limited Edition Watch
The LR002 has a 40-millimeter diameter and 13.25-mm thickness. Bamford doesn't specify the weight, but the size and titanium case should result in a piece that's very easy to wear.
The watch runs on the Selita SW200-1B movement that winds automatically as your wrist moves throughout the day. The 41-hour power reserve means the LR002 can maintain the time even if you don't wear it daily.
Like many military and dive watches, the LR002 has fixed lugs for holding the strap. The more common spring bars can potentially come off from a sharp hit or pull. Since the lugs are part of the case on this piece, that can't happen. This timepiece comes with a black NATO-style strap.
As the name implies, the LR002 follows the earlier LR001. It had the same design but with a gray colorway.
A simple, rugged, and stylish watch like this fits with the vehicles from Land Rover. The SUV maker started building off-road-oriented rigs in 1948. The concept was to produce something like a Jeep but British. Using an aluminum body meant that the vehicles' panels didn't rust.
Eventually, Land Rover started supplying vehicles to militaries. For example, the company took its Series IIA model in the 1960s and modified it into a version that a helicopter could carry. Variants served a variety of roles, including as ambulances and for carrying anti-tank weapons
Land Rover models continued their military service throughout the 1980s and '90s, including versions based on the Defender. With production lasting so long, decommissioned examples are available for citizens who want their own rugged SUV.
