Watch Description
What makes the Springfield 502 unique: Today, we’re thrilled to showcase this elegant piece originally manufactured by the Illinois Watch Company — the Springfield 502. The watch boasts a pristine white dial with bold, dark numerals and stunning royal-blue Breguet moon watch hands. The dial also features a subdial with a matching royal blue hand. We complemented the pocket watch’s dial by encasing it within our robust and scratch-resistant Machined Titanium case, and we equipped it with a nickel-plated crown. You can view its breathtaking inner workings on the back of the watch, including a 404-grade open-face movement with a going barrel, nickel finish, and pendant setting. The piece also boasts 17 jewels throughout its center bridge plate and bronze-plated gears. Finally, we equipped the watch with our stylish hand-crafted Merlot leather watch strap, adding even more sophistication to the piece. The Illinois Watch Company initially produced the Springfield 502’s pocket watch in Springfield, Illinois, in 1918 — the same year Mississippi became the first state to ratify the Eighteenth Amendment, banning alcohol. Mississippi had already forbidden the sale of alcohol in 1908, and they continued enforcing state-wide prohibition long after Congress repealed the Eighteenth Amendment in 1933. In 1966, Mississippi became the last state to repeal state-wide prohibition, but 29 counties continued outlawing alcohol. In 2021, Mississippi finally passed a law legalizing alcohol in every county, but individual counties can vote to remain dry.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: Machined Titanium
- Crown/Hardware: Nickel Plated
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Illinois Watch Company
- Serial Number: 3320479
- Manufacture Year: 1918
- 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.
