When one thinks of England, there are two very different sides to the same coin: the old, colonial England stuck to its traditions; and the bold, iconoclastic England boasting its Britishness through irreverent fashion and music. Eric Loth, founder and CEO of Graham-London, is an admirer of that flashy British side that relies so much on the power of colour – and one of the stars of the brand’s new collection unveiled this week in Basel has a highly chromatic personality: the Silverstone Tourbillograph issued in an intense, magnetic blue.
“I like the sport chic style, where colour assumes an important role and there’s always a touch of craziness”, says Eric Loth. “The British have this way of conveying a luxury concept where there’s always a style-disruptive element, inventing something that at first seems irrational but that with time becomes logical and even a paragon. That’s Graham”. The Silverstone Tourbillograph Blue does not have the same multicolour combinations as other Graham models, but its appeal resides precisely in its blueness… and its uniqueness.
A new form of elegance
Yes, uniqueness because, besides the colour, there won’t be any more Tourbillograph timepieces in steel from now on – only gold. “It is the last limited edition of the Silverstone Tourbillograph in steel”, says Eric Loth. “There will be two versions because we wanted to give the option to our customers to choose between two types of bezel: the Clous de Paris or circular satin-finished versions”.
Why the decision to celebrate such a specific colour? “We chose blue because we realized that several collectors wear jeans with an exceptional watch. And the Silverstone Tourbillograph Blue combines high technology and a very fresh look. Especially when worn with a jacket and a pair of jeans, I see it as a new form of elegance. It is also my favourite colour. I am looking forward to having one on my wrist!”
Sturdy chrono + tourbillon combination
Besides the emblematic blue dial and polished rhodiumed numerals that play with the light, there is much more to say about the Silverstone Tourbillograph – an automatic column-wheel chronograph-tourbillon that is not only sturdier for a sporty lifestyle than most timepieces featuring a tourbillon, but also has a highly attractive price tag of ‘just’ 52.500 Swiss francs for such a technological combination. “It has great potential: It’s complicated at a reasonable cost with a lot of technical features – a very exciting product”, emphasizes Eric Loth.
The Silverstone Tourbillograph Blue has an automatic one-minute Tourbillon boasting a rich technological content; the 48 components of its skeleton cage interlace in layers and have been reduced to an extreme weight of only 0.485 grams. The original construction is called cintré and integrates the Tourbillon into the complex chronograph movement while using a large-diameter balance wheel.
Chronofiable tested
Made exclusively for Graham by neighbours and calibre manufacturers LaJoux-Perret at La Chaux-de-Fonds, the Tourbillograph shockproof movement boasts two patents and its strength has to do with the reduced number of components, lightness and double-bridge construction that guarantee stability and perfect rigidity – besides a reduced sensitiveness to magnetism due to the use of iron-free components in the tourbillon cage. The G1780 calibre has successfully passed the Chronofiable test; it is to date the only automatic tourbillon that has achieved this feat.
The sporty style of Silverstone Tourbillograph Blue is accentuated by a virile outsized case available with either a “Clous de Paris” or circular satin-finished bezel. The calibre G1780 specs include 34 jewels, a frequency of 28,800 vph (4Hz), Incabloc shock absorber, 48-hour power reserve, 30-minute and 12-hour chronograph counters, tourbillon cage with a 13.78 mm cage opening and 48 components weighing 0.485 grams; 48 mm diameter steel case equipped with anti-reflective (on both sides) domed sapphire crystal, 42 mm opening, see-through sapphire case back and blue crocodile leather strap to match the dial. Limited to 50 pieces and worth diving into the blue.
