Heuer Silverstone Triple – Full Caliber 12 Set

Silverstone Blue 110.313B c1975. Cal. 12

It’s undeniable that Heuer have made some fantastic watches, and this to me is one of the best. The successor to the Monaco, the Silverstone, especially in blue, is a king of watches. Not many pieces can get away with a hint of dress watch but be a full on (motor)sports watch, and this does it for me.

The metallic deep blue dial is spellbinding, the face is actually lightly brushed, north to south, which was news to me, as in photographs it looks flat blue, and the inner bezel is brushed in a radial sunburst pattern. This gives a wide ranging array in blues in different lighting conditions. From midnight blue to a pale blue, it’s compulsive viewing sometimes. This one came from the sun-kissed shores of Honolulu, Hawaii having arrived there from Australia. I think it’s come home now, especially as I bought it on my birthday.

What makes the owning experience even more enjoyable is that I’ve just had it fitted with a new sapphire crystal. Making wearing it a more relaxed affair, knowing it won’t get scratched, unlike the original mineral glasses. Rob at Nakai Watches spent a considerable amount of time getting exact (and I mean exact) sapphire crystals manufactured. This is a God-send, as NOS mineral glasses are like hens teeth, and would probably mean a £500 overhaul at TAG Heuer, Switzerland, as they insist on a full service before any watch leaves their workshop. More details on the sapphire crystals here.

The blue is contrasted by the crisp white handset and dial script, and together with that creamy aged lume, is just incredibly cool looking. It’s fair to say this is a masterpiece from Heuer. To top it off, this blue version was immortalised by Swiss racing legend Clay Regazzoni, and worn during his time with Ferrari from ’74-’76 with his team mate Nikki Lauda, another Heuer owner, both driving the famous Flat-12 312B3 / T / T2. In fact it was Regazzoni’s recommendation that help Lauda land a drive with Ferrari.

Heuer Silverstone  110.313B c1975. Cal. 12

I’m lucky enough to get my mitts on another Silverstone.. this time the beautiful Bordeaux, or ‘Red’. It’s interesting that the three Silverstones have different finishes to the dials. The Fume has the sunburst dial, the Blue is lightly brushed and metallic, and the Red, seen here is a flat colour. This may seem ‘plain’ compared to the slightly more exotic finishes of it’s brothers, but the finish of the red dial is sublime. The gloss bordeaux, is wonderful. It has a simple an alluring quality that reflect the ambient light in a wonderful manor.. sometimes it appear almost blue,well, more bluey-purple. Other times it is full red, then almost black.

Like my Blue Silverstone, this Red has been fitted with a new sapphire crystal (yes, I said sapphire)… Rob at Nakai Watches went to great lengths to secure the manufacture of exact replacement sapphire crystals. NOS mineral glasses are like hens teeth, and would cost a fortune, so these new sapphires are a revelation. More details on the sapphire crystals here. Again, like my Blue dial version, I’ve forgone a vintage bracelt of leather/corfam strap in favour of an aftermarket Hadley Roma Oyster bracelet. I think it suits the watch perfectly, and is very well made, it’s solid links adds a hefty weight, with balances the Silverstones big head.

The ‘red’ is the only model that TAG Heuer didn’t release as a ‘re-edition’. The Fume was re-released as a brown colour, the Blue was re-released as a straight blue. There is one exception though.. TAG Heuer built a one off reissue Red, bearing the signature of Jack Heuer, and was sold as part of the Haslinger Collection at the infamous Bonhams auction – it achieved a sum of £12,000, with all proceeds going to charity.

A big thanks goes to Rob at Nakia watches for selling me this wonderful timepiece, and for the sapphire crystal, the infamous DD who got me hooked on the ‘Red’ with his renowned wristshots, and James for fitting the crystal and sorting out a minor hand issue.

Silverstone Fume (Smoke) 110.313F c1974-76. Cal. 12.

This watch hardly requires any introduction, such is its legendary status. It’s the successor to the Monaco and has its ties deeply ingrained in motorsport history. I wasn’t even looking for a Silverstone, as, and I’ll be honest, I wasn’t a huge admirer of them. I was having an email ‘chat’ with Rich from HeuerMonaco.co.uk and he attached a photo of this mint example (when Rich says mint, he really means it – NOS would be more accurate), saying it was available. It originated from a Spanish watchmaker, sitting in a box for most of it’s life. I ummed and arred about it for a while and took the plunge.

My reasoning was that it would be an ‘investment’ and would spend much of it’s life safely tucked away, that theory didn’t last long. I found that it very quickly grew on me, in fact I couldn’t get the damn thing off my wrist. I’ve totally fallen for it now and have a new respect for the much celebrated Silverstone.

The fume, or ‘smoke’ dial is simply sublime. Sometimes it flicks from pure 70′s retro brown to deep dark earth tones, in the sunlight it comes alive with golden hues. In flat light it can appear quite grey. I’ve tried to capture these differences in the photographs, which was a tough job, I must have taken 60+ to get some half decent shots. Many show the dial in its rather pleasing ‘grey’ look. Update – I’ve taken some new shots on a brown strap.