Watch Description
What makes the Springfield 128 unique:
There’s something timeless about the combination of bold Breguet numerals and deep blue heavy moon hands. With this piece, those elements come to life against a crisp white enamel dial, which features a sunken sub-seconds dial at 6 o’clock. Delicate age cracks on the porcelain-like surface remind us that this pocket watch dial was originally crafted over a century ago, adding character and charm to an already classic design.
Inside, we’ve preserved an original 17-jewel Illinois movement from 1911, which has been reoriented from its original hunting case format. You’ll notice the crown sits at 3 o’clock rather than 12—this repositioning was necessary for many hunters that were later adapted for modern wristwear. The movement boasts beautiful bridgework, polished details, and historically accurate layout that speaks to the craftsmanship of early 20th-century American horology.
We’ve housed this movement in a sandblasted titanium case with a matching sandblasted coin-edge bezel and knurled crown. The camel-colored leather strap adds warmth to the overall aesthetic and balances the polished textures of the hardware. With its 45mm presence, Springfield 128 is a bold, refined tribute to its era.
In 1911, American innovation continued to shape the world, with the first airmail flight in the U.S. taking place that year in Long Island, New York. As aviation took to the skies, Illinois Watch Company was hard at work perfecting precision timepieces like this one—both engineering achievements that redefined their industries.
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: 2025
- Warranty: Full 1-Year Warranty
- Case Dimensions:
- Diameter: 45mm
- Thickness: 12mm
- Lug to Lug: 55mm
- Lug Width: 22mm
- Case Material: Sandblasted Titanium
- Crown/Hardware: Titanium
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Illinois Watch Company
- Serial Number: 2281676
- Manufacture Year: 1911
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 17 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
What makes the Springfield 128 unique:
There’s something timeless about the combination of bold Breguet numerals and deep blue heavy moon hands. With this piece, those elements come to life against a crisp white enamel dial, which features a sunken sub-seconds dial at 6 o’clock. Delicate age cracks on the porcelain-like surface remind us that this pocket watch dial was originally crafted over a century ago, adding character and charm to an already classic design.
Inside, we’ve preserved an original 17-jewel Illinois movement from 1911, which has been reoriented from its original hunting case format. You’ll notice the crown sits at 3 o’clock rather than 12—this repositioning was necessary for many hunters that were later adapted for modern wristwear. The movement boasts beautiful bridgework, polished details, and historically accurate layout that speaks to the craftsmanship of early 20th-century American horology.
We’ve housed this movement in a sandblasted titanium case with a matching sandblasted coin-edge bezel and knurled crown. The camel-colored leather strap adds warmth to the overall aesthetic and balances the polished textures of the hardware. With its 45mm presence, Springfield 128 is a bold, refined tribute to its era.
In 1911, American innovation continued to shape the world, with the first airmail flight in the U.S. taking place that year in Long Island, New York. As aviation took to the skies, Illinois Watch Company was hard at work perfecting precision timepieces like this one—both engineering achievements that redefined their industries.
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.
