Watch Description
What makes the Springfield 444 unique: Today we happily present to you the Springfield 444, a stunning timepiece from the Illinois Watch Company. The gold-plated design work on the inner portion of this double-sunk dial is a great focal point to draw your attention to the finer details of this watch. We paired our gold-plated crown and hardware to tie in the vintage feel, cased in our machined titanium for extra visual appeal. Our natural strap brings everything together nicely, letting the craftsmanship of the dial shine through. As we turn this watch over, we are immediately taken aback by the intricacies and different layers of this amazing movement. The original craftsman named this watch accordingly, as you can see here with the insignia “Special” that is displayed across the main bridge plate. Gold-plated gears and a brass balance wheel bring precious metal accents, as well as the 17 screw-set jewels that keep everything spinning on track. This watch was originally manufactured by the Illinois Watch Company in 1925 in Springfield, Illinois. The founder of Illinois, Jacob Bunn, passed away in 1897 and was replaced by his youngest son, Jacob Bunn Jr as president of the company. Bunn decided to discontinue building medium-grade watches and focused on improving quality and selling the brand as the most popular and most reliable railroad watch in the country. Beginning in 1914 they focused only on high-quality watches with 17 or more jewels, and the company was growing faster than ever. A typical Illinois Watch took anywhere from eight to twelve months from the time work began on it until it was ready to leave the factory. The watches were guaranteed to be accurate within 30 seconds a week in up to five positions, and at temperatures from nearly freezing to almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit.Movement Manufacturer Information
The movement inside of this watch was made by Illinois Watch Company. We call this model "The Springfield" because the company was located in Springfield, Illinois.
Originally called the Springfield Watch Company, Illinois came to Springfield, Illinois in 1869 while the "modern" watch industry was fairly new but highly promising. City officials felt that the addition of industry to the city of Springfield would be excellent for the city's growth. However, after a series of failures and re-brandings, the company had a slow start until 1903 when they decided to manufacture high-quality watches only. Eventually making some of the most beautiful watches of their time, the company sold to Hamilton in 1927. Hamilton continued producing watches under the Illinois name for some time, but the original Springfield factory no longer stands.
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Watch Specifications
- Manufacturer: Vortic Watch Company
- Warranty: Full 1-Year Warranty
- Case Dimensions:
- Diameter: 47mm
- Thickness: 12mm
- Lug to Lug: 55mm
- Lug Width: 22mm
- Case Material: Machined Titanium
- Crown/Hardware: Gold Plated
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Illinois Watch Company
- Serial Number: 4546174
- Manufacture Year: 1925
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 17 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
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The Movement
The engine that powers this watch is an antique American pocket watch movement. All the gears and springs that make it tell time are roughly 100 years old on average. We call these watches the American Artisan Series because we're celebrating the history and legacy of the artisan watchmakers who built this engineering marvel a century ago in the United States.
The Story
Today most pocket watches are scrapped for the gold or silver of the case (the outside of the antique timepiece), leaving the inside (what we call the "movement") as trash.
We take pride in upcycling these pieces of American history by salvaging as many as we can, then preserving them inside our wristwatches.
Our expert team of watchmakers restores the antique movement and then we manufacture a custom wristwatch case here in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The Strap
We partnered with Worn & Wound to produce a custom set of straps for our American Artisan Series watches. We now have 15 different colors to choose from including our two Horween Shell Cordovan options. These straps are made in the USA and are based on the Windup Model 2 Premium strap that Worn and Wound offers.
