Watch Description
What makes the Springfield 454 unique: Today we are proud to present this incredible timepiece from the Illinois Watch Company, our Springfield 454. We are absolutely thrilled to show off how breathtaking this dial is, with such intricate machine-work on the center of the dial. If you look closely, you will be amazed by the small flowers that sit atop this shield of arms. Gold-colored features such as the numerals and minute indicators blend nicely with our gold-plated crown while sitting inside of this soft sandblasted titanium case. The details continue as we turn this watch over to reveal an amazing 21 jewel movement, originally produced in Springfield, Illinois in 1922. Brass settings and hardware all throughout give this watch a nice precious metal feel, as well as gold-plated gears that can be seen beneath. A large build plate fills the space, lightly decorated with Geneva lines that carry over and create a cohesive design. The Illinois Watch Company produced around 3,900,000 watches in 1922, with around 68,000 of those movements being Grade 274. 1,000 of those watches from that batch were this small run of 21 jewel movements that would have looked very similar to this watch, likely with a variety of different dials to go with them. We love to dig deep and track down information on these old movements, and provide the small details along with each watch we send out.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: Sandblasted Titanium
- Crown/Hardware: Gold Plated
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Illinois Watch Company
- Serial Number: 4054067
- Manufacture Year: 1922
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 21 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.
