Model # 2TZAS-S01A-L99S
Brand/Model: Graham Silverstone
GMT Automatic
Movement: Swiss automatic
Material: stainless steel case,
leather strap
Complications: date display,
independently adjustable 24 hour hand
Price: MSRP: $4,550 USD
Plenty of photos follow the review.
Click on the pictures to enlarge.
When I think of
Graham brand watches, I usually envision absurdly large fighter style
chronographs with oversized pushers and busy dials. They always seemed
like clown watches to me. So when these Graham Silverstone GMT models
started showing up on the grey market about a year ago at deeply discounted
prices, my interest was piqued because, wonder of all wonders, this watch was
‘only’ 42mm in size! A sensibly sized Graham? Who knew!
Graham is an
English watch company playing off the history of George Graham, who in the
early 1700s was a master clockmaker in London. All Graham watches are
Swiss Made and utilize the highest quality materials with thorough engineering
incorporated into each watch they make.
The Silverstone GMT
gets its name from the famed Silverstone racetrack that hosted its first race
in 1947 in England. In 1950, the first
Formula One race was held at Silverstone.
The track has since become known as the home of British racing and
Graham saw fit to honor this grand dame of racetracks with a watch bearing its
name.
So of course, since
I discovered I could get a Graham for one-third the retail price, I got me-self
one and truth be told, I have been very impressed with this watch since day
one. The overall quality, look and feel of this piece is superb and I
wish and hope that Graham decides to make more watches in this size range.
Currently, it looks like their smallest watch is about 44mm.
The Graham
Silverstone GMT came in a black or silver dial; I chose the silver. The
dial is a nice shade of silver that is surprisingly easy to read, but I’m
getting ahead of myself.
The Graham GMT
starts with a beautifully fully polished stainless steel case that measures the
aforementioned 42mm (actually 41.9mm) without the screwdown crown; 45.5mm with
the crown included. The case is shaped with a nice rounding to the case
sides and nifty curved down lugs that help the watch hug the wrist.
Believe me, they
did not skimp in the manufacture of this case, although the screwdown crown is
a curiosity for two reasons. Why on earth use a screwdown crown on a
watch rated at only 50 meters of water resistance? Seems silly to me.
Also, the crown is incredibly plain, it is not signed nor does it have
any distinctive features, like a larger size, deep knurls, etc. I would
have liked a nicely signed crown to compliment the unique look of this watch.
The caseback is brushed
and polished stainless steel on the outer edge and is a display type held in
place by 6 small screws. The very nicely finished movement is easily
examined through the caseback with a totally cool signed black rotor.
Case thickness is a
svelte 10.7mm and lug spacing is 20mm. As just mentioned, the watch is
factory rated for a modest 50 meters of water resistance.
A fixed black 24
hour bezel insert surrounds the dial, a dial which does exhibit some of the
traditional Graham excess, namely the somewhat oversized arabics and large
pointer style GMT hand. But the excess is restrained and it actually
works well while telling the world this is not your usual watch.
The shade of silver
on the dial is just about right, not too bright, and with the finely crafted
hands with their thin pointed tips, this watch is easy to read. The
seconds hand has a luminous pointer about two-thirds of the way out, with a
long red tip after the pointer. It’s a nice long seconds hand, one that
extends fully in the chapter ring that features small arabics every five
minutes and minute markers between the arabics.
The large screened
arabics on the dial look like they are luminous, but they are not. Only the hour, minute and seconds hand glow
in the dark. Lume quality is good, but it would be nice to have some sort
of lume on the dial, such as dots, markers, etc.
While there is
minimal printing on the dial, the texts are a bit large, but again, not too
garish. The name ‘Graham’ is prominently
displayed under the 12, with a much smaller ‘Silverstone’ text underneath. Above the 6 position is a small ‘automatic’
with a large red ‘GMT’ above that. It might
sound a bit loud, but it really isn’t.
I’m not sure why
they didn’t make the GMT hand luminous, perhaps because the bezel with the 24
hour markings is not luminous or maybe they don’t think you need second
timezone tracking in the dark. Regardless of this somewhat odd oversight,
the GMT hand is a plain black stick with an oversized open red pointer tip that
is super easy to see. Again, daytime legibility is a strong point on this
watch.
Another unique
feature of the Graham GMT is the location of the date window. It’s at the
unusual position of about 36 on the dial (or 7 o’clock depending on how you
look at it). Not sure why they chose this position, but it does the job
and works fine.
The quickset date
mechanism works well, the date wheel is black on white and is visible through
the recessed window that frames the date nicely.
Capping the dial is
a very slightly domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating. The
build quality of the dial and hands is very good; no defects or dirt were noticed
under an 8X loupe exam.
Doing duty inside
the Graham Silverstone GMT is the venerable Swiss Made ETA 2893-2 automatic
movement, with 21 jewels running at 28,800 bph with the GMT complication
(Graham Caliber # G1714). This movement is the workhorse for most GMT
automatics around and in this application, it’s treated to a nice decoration
regime (perlage and blued screws) and the cool signed black rotor I mentioned
earlier. It’s a joy to behold when
viewed through the display caseback.
The watch hacks and
manually winds and the GMT hand clicks around the dial in one-hour increments.
The watch winds and sets well and keeps time to a fine +4 seconds/24
hours according to my testing. Power reserve was clocked at a totally
respectable 49.5 hours, more than the expected 42 hours. Excellent!
The Graham
Silverstone GMT comes on a high quality black leather strap with white contrast
stitching. The strap is smooth leather and is signed, as is the highly
polished stainless steel buckle. The strap measures 20mm at the lugs and
tapers to 18.2mm at the buckle.
There are two
keepers, one fixed and one floating. The strap is a bit thick and mildly
padded, but still soft and flexible. A perfect companion to the rest of
the watch.
Presentation is
rather over-the-top, as would be expected of Graham. A two piece black
cardboard outer box encloses another oversized outer box has a damped hinged
auto-open cover (once the latch is slide back) with yet another smaller
zippered box inside that actually contains the watch. The zippered box could be used as a travel
box if needed.
Full documentation
in the form of a hardcover ‘watch passort’ is included. The passport contains hand-written serial
numbers and movement numbers, which is a nice touch. No complaints with this presentation.
Often times a high
priced watch from a smaller company like Graham will come off as either
overdone or overstyled (which their Chronofighter models are, IMHO) or all
flash and no substance. This Graham Silverstone GMT exceeded my
expectations of what I thought it might be and has been a great introduction to
this English brand.
While I can safely
say that I will probably never own an oversized overwrought Graham Chronofighter,
if they produce more smaller sized watches like this Silverstone GMT, I would
definitely take a look and have interest. This Graham Silverstone GMT is
a superb watch in most all respects and if you can snag one for one-third of
retail, consider it well-bought.
Pros: great overall quality, highly legible in
daylight, nicely decorated movement, superb case shape, manageable size, unique
looks
Cons: why a screwdown crown on a 50M watch?
crown too plain, modest water resistance rating, crazy MSRP, sparse lume
Verdict: the Graham Silverstone GMT gets the job
done with outstanding style, functionality and unique details that set it apart
from other GMT watches on the market; overall, a high-grade watch for
discriminating collectors. Well done!
Thanks for reading
and enjoy the pics.
Excelsior!
-Marc
