Watch Description
What makes the Springfield 481 unique: We are excited to present this gorgeous piece originally built in 1927 by the Illinois Watch Company — the Springfield 481. This watch features a light, cream-colored dial with rustic numerals and minute indicators. The Illinois Watch Company excellently designed the dial with “Illinois” centered just below the 12. A circular ring with intricate patterns extends from “Illinois” and reaches the subdial, and the hour-hand contrasts the dark minute-hand with gold plating. We crafted a wristwatch out of the original pocket watch by encompassing it in our signature DLC black case, which is scratch-resistant. The back of the watch features 405-grade, open-face movement, and the piece sports a nickel finish and pendant setting. The watch’s clear display case reveals its power and beauty with gold-plated gears and 17 jewels. We paired Springfield’s original creation with our Rye leather watch strap and gold-plated buckle to match the dial’s golden details. The Illinois Watch Company created the original piece in 1927 — the same year that the Harlem Globetrotters played their first game outside of Chicago. Abe Saperstein founded the iconic team in 1926, which led to groundbreaking contributions to basketball. The team popularized the “slam dunk,” and they laid the foundation for more people of color being accepted in professional sports after they won the World Professional Basketball Tournament in 1940. They played their first game outside of Chicago in Hinckley, Illinois, 177 miles north of Springfield.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.
Legal Disclaimer: All product and company names, logos, brands, and other trademarks featured or referred to within Vortic's products and services are the property of their respective intellectual property rights holders, if any. Those intellectual property rights holders, other than Vortic, LLC, are not affiliated with Vortic, LLC, our products, or our website. They do not sponsor or endorse our materials.
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: DLC Titanium
- Crown/Hardware: Copper
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Illinois Watch Company
- Serial Number: 4944633
- Manufacture Year: 1927
- 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.
