Silverstone Fume 110.313F

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.