Watch Description
The Boston 388 is the 388th one-of-a-kind piece in Vortic's "Boston" line of the American Artisan Series. This watch contains the original movement (timepiece), dial (face), and hands from a vintage (1880’s – 1950’s) pocket watch. The American Artisan Series is a line of fully American Made wristwatches powered by restored, U.S. made pocket watch movements.
What makes the Boston 388 Unique: Back in the early 20th century, some American watchmakers would manufacture small runs of watches for private companies upon request. As pocket watches were becoming popular, many companies would grab onto the trend and would either make a small run of watches for their jewelry store to sell, or make watches that represented their company as gifts for employees. At the time, if you ordered a large enough quantity of watches, they would even engrave the movement as well as make a special dial. The watch for today’s Watch of the Day is a 1915 Waltham created specially for Smith & Patterson Co in Boston, Massachusetts. These special dials were created in a very small run for Smith & Patterson which makes this watch incredibly unique and rare. Often times as long as the customer made an order or five or more watches, the cost of a custom movement fee was waived and custom dials were 25-50 cents per watch. A very classic and elegant white dial with black numerals, we wanted to keep it simple and match the look with a stone strap and nickel coated dail. This Waltham 17 Jewel screw set movement with a Breguet hairspring and ¾ main plate is a beautiful example of a unique custom made watch from the era.
1915
20443027
Movement Manufacturer Information
The movement inside of this watch was made by Waltham Watch Company. We call this model "The Boston" because of the company's proximity to the city.
Also known as American Watch Company and American Waltham Watch Company, Waltham was one of the leaders in attempting an entirely new concept, machines making machines. Prior to this, a watchmaker would hand-make each part of a movement one-at-a-time. Operating from 1851-1957, Waltham called its product the "Scientific Watch." Waltham's innovative, precise machining techniques made parts interchangeable, and their early version of the assembly line made high-quality watches efficient to produce. Legend has it that Henry Ford drew inspiration for his assembly line production from a visit to Waltham's factory. Located on the bank of the Charles River in "Watch City" (Waltham), Massachusetts, the factory has since been converted to apartment lofts.
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
- Model Year: 2021
- Warranty: Full 1-Year Warranty
- Case Dimensions:
- Diameter: 47mm
- Thickness: 12mm
- Lug to Lug: 55mm
- Lug Width: 22mm
- Case Material: DLC Titanium
- Crown/Hardware: Nickel Plated
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Waltham Watch Company
- Serial Number:
- Manufacture Year:
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 17 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
The Boston 388 is the 388th one-of-a-kind piece in Vortic's "Boston" line of the American Artisan Series. This watch contains the original movement (timepiece), dial (face), and hands from a vintage (1880’s – 1950’s) pocket watch. The American Artisan Series is a line of fully American Made wristwatches powered by restored, U.S. made pocket watch movements.
What makes the Boston 388 Unique: Back in the early 20th century, some American watchmakers would manufacture small runs of watches for private companies upon request. As pocket watches were becoming popular, many companies would grab onto the trend and would either make a small run of watches for their jewelry store to sell, or make watches that represented their company as gifts for employees. At the time, if you ordered a large enough quantity of watches, they would even engrave the movement as well as make a special dial. The watch for today’s Watch of the Day is a 1915 Waltham created specially for Smith & Patterson Co in Boston, Massachusetts. These special dials were created in a very small run for Smith & Patterson which makes this watch incredibly unique and rare. Often times as long as the customer made an order or five or more watches, the cost of a custom movement fee was waived and custom dials were 25-50 cents per watch. A very classic and elegant white dial with black numerals, we wanted to keep it simple and match the look with a stone strap and nickel coated dail. This Waltham 17 Jewel screw set movement with a Breguet hairspring and ¾ main plate is a beautiful example of a unique custom made watch from the era.
1915
20443027
Let customers speak for us
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.
