Watch Description
What makes the Cleveland 001 unique: The remarkable wristwatch we are presenting today is a conversion of a 1926 pocket watch – the first Ball watch we have offered in our V3 casing system: the Cleveland 001.
The pocket watch we converted for this beautiful timepiece was manufactured by the Illinois Watch Company for the Ball Watch Company, a pioneer in timekeeping standards and railway safety, and its dial features an ornate, raised center design, with its Victorian leaf and flourishes pattern. The seconds subdial at 6 o'clock, flush with the rest of the dial, is nestled underneath. The heat-blued hands are of a rare, square-spade design, whose sharp angles and deep coloration contrast beautifully with the aged ivory dial and italicized, gold Arabic numerals.
The watch face pairs perfectly with our V3 case, machined from a single piece of bronze, with a matching coin-edged bezel and vertical-grooved crown.
This gorgeous piece of American horological history is made wearable with our comfortable and stylish oxblood Cordovan leather watch strap, made in America with leather from American cattle.
On the watch’s reverse side, the radially finished 19-jewel movement boasts a Reed regulator and Breguet hairspring. A marvel of craftsmanship and accuracy even 98 years after its birth, this movement was manufactured in Springfield, Illinois the same year Greta Garbo's first Hollywood picture, Torrent, premiered at the Capitol Theatre in New York, the first trans-Atlantic phone call was completed, and the Ford Motor Company implemented a novel concept at its factories: the 40-hour work week.
Movement Manufacturer Information
The movement inside of this watch was made by Ball Watch Company. We call this model "The Cleveland" because the company was located within the Cleveland city limits.
Founded by Webb C. Ball in 1891, Ball Watch Company's watches focused on the railroad industry and had a reputation for quality that was second to none. Mr. Ball famously invented and implemented a standard set of watch inspections and requirements to qualify a watch for use on the railroad at a time when timekeeping was paramount to safety. This was known as a "Standard" or "Railroad Grade" watch. The core of the manufacturing for these watches was performed by Hamilton and Waltham Watch Companies, but the adjustment, finishing, and testing performed by Ball set them ahead of the pack. One of the few companies still in existence, Ball now makes watches in Switzerland and is owned by Hong Kong group Asia Commercial Holdings Ltd.
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: 2024
- Warranty: Full 1-Year Warranty
- Case Dimensions:
- Diameter: 45mm
- Thickness: 12mm
- Lug to Lug: 55mm
- Lug Width: 22mm
- Case Material: Bronze
- Crown/Hardware: Bronze
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Ball Watch Company
- Serial Number: B403747
- Manufacture Year: 1926
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 19 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
What makes the Cleveland 001 unique: The remarkable wristwatch we are presenting today is a conversion of a 1926 pocket watch – the first Ball watch we have offered in our V3 casing system: the Cleveland 001.
The pocket watch we converted for this beautiful timepiece was manufactured by the Illinois Watch Company for the Ball Watch Company, a pioneer in timekeeping standards and railway safety, and its dial features an ornate, raised center design, with its Victorian leaf and flourishes pattern. The seconds subdial at 6 o'clock, flush with the rest of the dial, is nestled underneath. The heat-blued hands are of a rare, square-spade design, whose sharp angles and deep coloration contrast beautifully with the aged ivory dial and italicized, gold Arabic numerals.
The watch face pairs perfectly with our V3 case, machined from a single piece of bronze, with a matching coin-edged bezel and vertical-grooved crown.
This gorgeous piece of American horological history is made wearable with our comfortable and stylish oxblood Cordovan leather watch strap, made in America with leather from American cattle.
On the watch’s reverse side, the radially finished 19-jewel movement boasts a Reed regulator and Breguet hairspring. A marvel of craftsmanship and accuracy even 98 years after its birth, this movement was manufactured in Springfield, Illinois the same year Greta Garbo's first Hollywood picture, Torrent, premiered at the Capitol Theatre in New York, the first trans-Atlantic phone call was completed, and the Ford Motor Company implemented a novel concept at its factories: the 40-hour work week.
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.
