Watch Description
What makes the Springfield 059 unique: In a time when “more is better” is a popular catchphrase, it’s refreshing to find something that celebrates the simplistic nature of “the old way” of doing things. Featuring a 1918 Illinois Watch Company pocket watch, the Springfield 059 embodies the straightforward commitment to quality inherent in American watchmaking and manufacturing of the early 20th century.
An ivory-colored single-sunk dial with crisp black Art Deco numerals and sapphire blue kite hands is unpretentious and clean. The most decorated facet of this piece, the 17-jewel Autocrat, boasts precise engraving, gold inlay, and rose gold plated gears. We’ve played with the matte of the dial by pairing this piece with our sandblasted steel case, imitating the hashed minute and seconds tracks with a coin-edge bezel and crown. A stitched black Cordovan leather strap completes the feel of elegant simplicity.
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
- Model Year: 2024
- Warranty: Full 1-Year Warranty
- Case Dimensions:
- Diameter: 45mm
- Thickness: 12mm
- Lug to Lug: 55mm
- Lug Width: 22mm
- Case Material: Sandblasted Stainless Steel
- Crown/Hardware: Stainless Steel
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Illinois Watch Company
- Serial Number: 3391022
- Manufacture Year: 1918
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 17 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
What makes the Springfield 059 unique: In a time when “more is better” is a popular catchphrase, it’s refreshing to find something that celebrates the simplistic nature of “the old way” of doing things. Featuring a 1918 Illinois Watch Company pocket watch, the Springfield 059 embodies the straightforward commitment to quality inherent in American watchmaking and manufacturing of the early 20th century.
An ivory-colored single-sunk dial with crisp black Art Deco numerals and sapphire blue kite hands is unpretentious and clean. The most decorated facet of this piece, the 17-jewel Autocrat, boasts precise engraving, gold inlay, and rose gold plated gears. We’ve played with the matte of the dial by pairing this piece with our sandblasted steel case, imitating the hashed minute and seconds tracks with a coin-edge bezel and crown. A stitched black Cordovan leather strap completes the feel of elegant simplicity.
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.
