Watch Description
What makes the Springfield 132 unique:
Few antique dials retain their original beauty the way The Springfield 132 does. Nearly a century later, its pale ivory surface remains remarkably clean, offering a perfect backdrop for the bold, stylized numerals. Blued steel diamond-style hands—often called "kite" hands—sweep confidently across the dial, while a recessed sub-seconds register adds a final touch of vintage charm.
Inside, this watch houses a 17-jewel Illinois Watch Company movement from 1922, proudly engraved with the name “The Autocrat.” At the time, Illinois used the Autocrat title to signify a movement of elevated quality—featuring aesthetic upgrades like Geneva stripes, gold engraving, and careful adjustment for dependable timekeeping. It’s a piece built for precision and pride, qualities still visible today through the sapphire caseback.
The masterfully crafted movement is encased in sandblasted titanium with a smooth sandblasted bezel, paired with a knurled titanium crown. We've finished the build with a warm-toned American-made leather strap that enhances the dial’s classic sensibility.
In 1922—the same year this Illinois movement was crafted—race car driver Ralph DePalma made history as the first to complete 2,000 miles at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, pushing the limits of endurance and engineering. It’s that American spirit of determination that we aim to preserve in every Vortic watch we create.
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 Titanitum
- Crown/Hardware: Titanium
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Illinois Watch Company
- Serial Number: 3988037
- Manufacture Year: 1922
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 17 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
What makes the Springfield 132 unique:
Few antique dials retain their original beauty the way The Springfield 132 does. Nearly a century later, its pale ivory surface remains remarkably clean, offering a perfect backdrop for the bold, stylized numerals. Blued steel diamond-style hands—often called "kite" hands—sweep confidently across the dial, while a recessed sub-seconds register adds a final touch of vintage charm.
Inside, this watch houses a 17-jewel Illinois Watch Company movement from 1922, proudly engraved with the name “The Autocrat.” At the time, Illinois used the Autocrat title to signify a movement of elevated quality—featuring aesthetic upgrades like Geneva stripes, gold engraving, and careful adjustment for dependable timekeeping. It’s a piece built for precision and pride, qualities still visible today through the sapphire caseback.
The masterfully crafted movement is encased in sandblasted titanium with a smooth sandblasted bezel, paired with a knurled titanium crown. We've finished the build with a warm-toned American-made leather strap that enhances the dial’s classic sensibility.
In 1922—the same year this Illinois movement was crafted—race car driver Ralph DePalma made history as the first to complete 2,000 miles at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, pushing the limits of endurance and engineering. It’s that American spirit of determination that we aim to preserve in every Vortic watch we create.
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.
