Watchmakers are frequently innovative, both when in mechanics and design. There are new watch styles coming out all the time.  But as much as watch lovers enjoy innovation and new things, it’s still good to see some models hearkening back to classic styles. Graham did just that with the Silverstone Vintage 30. As you can likely guess from the name, this watch celebrates the early days of auto racing, when the first petrol-powered automobiles were created in the late 1800’s.

 The 47-millimeter stainless steel case houses one of Graham’s own movements, the G1734, an automatic movement with an Incabloc shock absorber. The power reserve lasts up to 48 hours. Also included in the movement are a chronograph and a date function.

 The integrated leather strap is brown and it looks excellent with the creamy off-white of the dial and the stainless steel of the case. The crown is at the three o’clock position and just a little on the large side. Two push-buttons for the chronograph flank it, both of them a little higher than usual. Their concave tops are engraved with a “Clous de Paris” pattern that matches that on the bezel.

 This watch’s large size works out in its favor, especially where the dial is concerned. Large yellowish Arabic numerals with SuperLumiNova coating and black outlining mark twelve o’clock and six o’clock.  The rest of the numbers are black. The hands are dauphine and made of rhodiated silver. Two large chronograph counters are located at three and nine o’clock, a thirty-minute counter and a sixty-second counter, respectively. There is a tiny date window at seven o’clock. The dial also comes in a black variation that definitely has a certain appeal, but it loses some of the vintage flavor of the cream-colored dial.

 Overall, the Silverstone Vintage 30 is quite a treat. It has an authentic vintage style that does homage to racing, and thus to horology itself (since watches were so important in almost every kind of racing).