Watch Description
The Boston 399 is the 399th 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 399 Unique: A fair amount of older pocket watches often had octagonal-shaped cases, as opposed to traditional round cases. This particular Waltham has a design on the dial that reflects that original case shape. We transferred this beauty into a new, round, machined titanium case, but we love the dial’s homage to its original design. The burgundy, full moon hands brought so much character to this watch that we decided to pair it with an equally complementary merlot strap and copper crown. There are so many different accents and interesting elements of design in this timepiece, it’s hard to take our eyes off of it! Inside of the watch is a combination of friction-set and raised-screw-set jewels. Gold-plated gears, a brass balance wheel, a nickel-plated bridge plate, and stainless steel hardware have this movement shining through the exhibition case back. The Boston 399 was originally manufactured by Waltham Watch Company in Waltham, Massachusetts in 1924. In the same year, Calvin Coolidge won the US Presidential election, beating opponent John Davis. Coolidge was generally well-received and even laid to rest several scandals from the previous administration.
1924
24431343
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: Machined Titanium
- Crown/Hardware: Copper
- 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 399 is the 399th 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 399 Unique: A fair amount of older pocket watches often had octagonal-shaped cases, as opposed to traditional round cases. This particular Waltham has a design on the dial that reflects that original case shape. We transferred this beauty into a new, round, machined titanium case, but we love the dial’s homage to its original design. The burgundy, full moon hands brought so much character to this watch that we decided to pair it with an equally complementary merlot strap and copper crown. There are so many different accents and interesting elements of design in this timepiece, it’s hard to take our eyes off of it! Inside of the watch is a combination of friction-set and raised-screw-set jewels. Gold-plated gears, a brass balance wheel, a nickel-plated bridge plate, and stainless steel hardware have this movement shining through the exhibition case back. The Boston 399 was originally manufactured by Waltham Watch Company in Waltham, Massachusetts in 1924. In the same year, Calvin Coolidge won the US Presidential election, beating opponent John Davis. Coolidge was generally well-received and even laid to rest several scandals from the previous administration.
1924
24431343
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.
