Graham Silverstone Flyback GMT

Graham has become a legend among watch connoisseurs, a company that produces quirky and beautifully finished watches of the highest quality. Graham is in a unique position in the market, taking the history and prestige of British watchmaking and updating it with Swiss mechanisms and manufacturing. The Silverstone Chronograph that I’ll be featuring in this week’s blog is an excellent example of Graham’s unique styling cues and peerless finishing, the details that have made it a favourite with watch aficionados.

When asked about British watchmaking, most people draw a blank. Perhaps they may recall the invention of the marine chronometer by John Harrison way back in the 1730s. Odds are they will stare at you blankly if you mention the name George Graham. But Graham (the man) was a highly respected and influential watchsmith in the heady days of the 18^th century. Graham developed several key innovations that would push watchmaking forward during the 1700s, notably the dead-beat escapement, training the inventor of the now ubiquitous lever escapement, and developing an early chronograph design. He was commissioned to build a clock for the Greenwich Royal Observatory. He even loaned money to the aforementioned Harrison fellow to help fund his chronometer project.  

Graham (the company) was founded in 1995 by Eric Loth, under the header of British Masters. BM also manages the Arnold and Son brand; in recent years, Graham has become the sporting arm of BM while Arnold and Son takes care of the classic designs and high-complication watches. Since its rebirth Graham has focussed on making extremely high quality watches worthy of George Graham’s legacy.

Not content with off-the-shelf movement designs, Loth contracted Jacquet Droz to provide highly-finished movements based loosely on Valjoux ebauches (movement bases). The results is a highly precise and extremely reliable movement. Our Silverstone exhibits excellent accuracy, and second-to-none function – the chronograph engages with a light tap of the pusher, and can be stopped and restarted with zero freeplay in the second hand to ensure perfect split-second timing. On top of that this Silverstone has a big-date and GMT function, as well as a flyback mechanism on the chronograph. Everything functions flawlessly – the date and GMT set nicely, the date clicks over instantly at precisely midnight, and the flyback function is extremely precise and instantaneous. Just by handling the watch you know that there is an excellent movement lurking under the colourful dial and beautiful case.

The dial adds a nice splash of colour to the design, featuring a bicompax subdials for the running seconds and chronograph minutes, as well as a blue inner dial that shows the 24 hour GMT index (which is indicated by the tiny yellow hand). The three-tiered tachymeter scale on the dial is coloured dark blue, green and red to distinguish the three levels – an unusual design, as most modern tachymeter indexes only show one level to measure speeds in km/h or mph. Everything is topped off with a nice set of white luminescent hands, with the chronograph seconds had featuring a red tip. The details look classic, but the execution is fun and modern and very easy to read despite the complexity.

Aside from the movement, the case of the Silverstone is a real highlight. It features a trademark tall, tapered bezel around the ever-so-slightly domed sapphire crystal. The main body has a bulbous form set off by a high polish finish, merged into a set of classically styled lugs. While the watch appears enormous in photos, it’s actually a very modest 40mm, but still has a lot of wrist presence owing to the exaggerated details and 15mm thickness. The crown and pushers are solid and big enough to manipulate easily, and the asymmetrical design of the pushers (the start-stop pusher is taller than the reset) is a nice touch. Everything is topped off with a hand-sewn black alligator strap and a nicely designed buckle. And if you are wondering about that little leather bag attached to the buckle, it’s a lead seal formed around the short length of string. To remove it, you need to cut the rope – it’s to ensure that you know when the watch is new and unworn, because you cannot remove the seal without cutting that string. As you may guess, this watch is brand new, never worn, and comes with the box and papers and a one year warranty.

Graham has gone from humble beginnings and a storied past to become a true enthusiast’s brand – a little-known company that produces superb watches with unique designs that have become a favourite of watch lovers. This Silverstone is an excellent example of the quality and finishing we have come to expect from Graham. If you’d like to know more about this watch, or any others we have in stock, give me a call at 514 845 8878 or visit our contact page.

Cheers

Jason Cormier

More photos of the Graham Silverstone GMT here.

Bell & Ross has always manufactured watches to be fit for professional use. To assure this its designers and engineers adhere to four guiding principles. These are water resistance, precision, readability (legibility at a glance), and performance. The help of military, safety, and health professionals is often enlisted to ensure that these aspects are incorporated in each watch. The BR-01 94 Pro Titanium is a symbol of the French manufacturer's four guiding principles.

Its 46mm square titanium case is the the most important difference between the BR-01 94 Pro Titanium and other BR-01s. The case is very light and very strong thanks to titanium's amazing properties. The shape of the case - with its reinforced bezel - also makes the watch more resistance to shock. For those of us who don't plan to take this luxury watch rock-climbing or into battle however, we will still appreciate how light and comfortable the watch is for its size. As for the reinforced bezel, it simply looks awesome.

The Pro Titanium was the first watch to be fitted with the dark grey BR rubber strap that is now used for the special edition Commando models. The strap is meant to match the dark grey, metallic colour of the watch's dial. This brings us to Bell & Ross' third principle of design: readability. As bold as the hour markers and hands are on the other BR Instruments, the ones on the Pro Titanium are the boldest. They are wide and large and have a healthy dose of SuperLuminova photo-luminescent paint applied to them.

By incorporating the company's four guiding principles the BR 01 94 Pro Titanium is a testament to Bell & Ross' pledge to manufacture timepieces for professionals. The titanium case and durable rubber strap add to the watch's performance, but mostly make it unique amongst other Bell & Ross Instruments.

Many new U-Boat models will be available at the beginning of September. One in particular sets itself apart from the rest. The U-51 Rattrapante offers, as the name suggests, a split-second chronograph as well as a massive 51mm case and an extremely fine brown alligator and rubber strap.

Although much different then other models, the case of the U-51 does have some very telling U-Boat features. The crown, as always, is on the left side of the watch and is protected by a cap. The hinge and crown-protecting cap are more beefy then usual, and the whole system is held together by solid-looking screws and rivets. The width of the case is massive as usual. The bezel is similar to that of the Flightdeck, which extends past the height of the crystal, but on the U-51 the bezel is affixed to the case using five visible screws.

The Swiss automatic movement offers a the function that gives the watch its name. A rattrapante or split-second function makes it possible to pause the chronograph while keeping it running. This is accomplished by two seconds hands overlapping each other. One can be stopped in order to take a reading while the other one continues to sweep its way around the dial. Intricate watchmaking is necessary to perform this task mechanically.

Although, the U-51 is unique amongst other U-Boat watches, it still retains many U-Boat features such as the large case and left handed configuration. The U-51 Rattrapante is perfect for collectors that appreciate the high-art of horology, and at the same time are comfortable wearing large, sporty watches.

Bell & Ross' release of the BR-01 Tourbillon was very successful and has stemmed into the release of several other complicated models. Three new variations of the BR01 Tourbillon are now available as is the most complicated watch of the manufacturer's line, the BR Grand Minuteur.

The proprietary movements on both these models are amazing technically and visually. A golden tourbillon cage completes one revolution per minute while the balance wheel beats within it. Because the bridges and plates that hold the mechanical components together are made using carbon fibre, the wearer is offered a stunning yet sporty view through the exhibition back of the case.

The new Grand Minuteur re-invents the BR case. The case on this watch is rectangular with a width of 50mm and height of 44. The watch offers numerous functions including a fly-back chronograph and three-day power reserve. Thanks to the ingenious dial, the chronograph indicates the time lapse using minutes as well as tenth of hours. Perfect for anyone who bills clients in that fashion.

Both the Grand Minuteur and BR 01 Tourbillon models are extremely rare and complicated time pieces. They are available for order through Matt Baily for a limited time only.

A Closeup of the Classico Chronograph and the Classico 1001

At the last Baselworld exposition in Switzerland, U-Boat released several new models. Now that two of these models are on the verge of being delivered, it is a good time for me to introduce them to you.

The first is an old Classico revisited. A chronograph model has been added to the Classico series. The watch, which will be available in the standard Uboat sizes of 45 and 53mm, is similar in style to the old Left Hook Cronos that the company manufactured during their first few years of production. The quality of the new chronographs far surpass that of their ancestors. The watch runs on the infamous ETA (Valjoux) 7750 chronograph movement and sports a saspphire crystal and sturdy stainless steel case. The dial revives the linear-style subsidiary seconds of the Left-Hook, and stays true to the simplistic design of the Classico series while offering 30-minute and a twelve-hour counters for the chronograph.

With the Classico 1001, Italo Fontana evolves the Classico series visually and technically. The 1001 gets its name from the fact that it is rated to withstand pressures of 100ATM. That is the pressure found at 1000 meters below the surface of the water. To achieve this, the sapphire crystal has to be extra thick, the watch has to be equipped with a pressure release valve - seen on the side of the case at 8 o'clock - and the crown and case back have to be extremely well engineered and assembled. The 1001 will only be available in a 55mm case, which is probably why U-Boat chose to construct the watch using titanium. Despite its large size, the watch is not very heavy and sits comfortably on the wrist.

Both these models will be available in the coming months. A limited quantity of the 1001 models can be pre-ordered at Matt Baily.

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