The Military Edition - Third Edition

The AN5740-1 was commissioned by the United States Government at the beginning of World War II and built for the Army Air Corps. There were strict requirements for this timepiece because the brave soldiers in the skies needed to know the accurate time.

Three of the Great American Watch Companies were up to the task. Elgin from Illinois, Waltham from Massachusetts, and Hamilton from Pennsylvania all built mechanisms that met these specifications. To make the mark, all three companies decided to retrofit their most valuable and accurate Railroad Grade movements.

The dials were all standardized to be black with simple, white 24-hour markings. Each had a set of white hands, and a long sweeping second hand with a hacking feature that allowed the timepieces to be used not just as pocket watches but as stopwatches.

Most of the movements we find were manufactured between 1938 and 1950. They were likely used in war-time but were discarded or forgotten shortly afterward. This means the original mechanical, manually wound mechanisms have not been properly serviced or cared-for in recent years.

Vortic's team of expert watchmakers meticulously restores each movement to near factory conditions using only original parts. Thankfully, because these were built as tools for the U.S. Military, extra parts were built for field servicing. We even have access to the original field service manuals from the, now defunct, watch companies!

We do the best we can to restore and regulate each one, but "perfect" timekeeping similar to a modern wristwatch is not achievable. Each watch will be adjusted to keep excellent time on a day to day basis, but there will be variations from watch to watch.

For the front crystal of the Military Edition, we decided to do something different than our other watches. The custom domed glass is handcrafted for us by White's Crystals in San Francisco. Mr. White recommended a special German-engineered glass for this project with similar properties to Sapphire.

The domed glass creates a beautiful side profile that makes this watch stand out from all others. It also makes more room inside the watch for the very tall pinion holding the hands.

On the back, we used Corning Gorilla Glass just like our other watches. The scratch-resistant crystal has a clarity rating of nearly 100 meaning it's completely transparent and perfect for showing off the piece of American military history inside.

We've partnered with the Veterans Watchmaker Initiative to provide jobs to U.S. Military personnel when they come home. $500 from the sale of each Military Edition watch will directly benefit their mission to educate and certify the next generation of American watchmakers.

With the rise in popularity of vintage and mechanical wristwatches, there's an ever-growing need for skilled watchmakers to restore and service these timepieces. Every watch company from Vortic to Rolex is actively seeking trained workers and the Veterans Watchmaker Initiative is filling those skill-gaps.

The current program can only train about 20 students at a time, but there are hundreds on the waiting list. By purchasing the Military Edition you will be directly impacting the Past, Present, and future of American watchmaking.