Watch Description
The Springfield 381 is the 381st one-of-a-kind piece in Vortic's "Springfield" 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 Springfield 381 Unique: We are continuing our featured DLC cases this week with this fantastic Time King movement from Illinois Watch Company. This movement was on the higher end of watches being produced at this time by Illinois, as shown here by the highly decorated main plate and gold-plated hardware throughout. Rose gold gears and gold plated balance, this watch was truly at the top of its class in 1922 when it was originally manufactured. The details in the dial are remarkably impressive and really tell the story of this watch. We love the stark black case paired with these very unique numerals and decided to finish off the details with a natural band and nickel crown. Not too far away in the Bronx, NY construction of the Yankee Stadium begins. Radio was booming all over the country and baseball was growing in popularity as well with more access across the country to games that before were only seen in person.
1922
4020044
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: 2021
- Warranty: Full 1-Year Warranty
- Case Dimensions:
- Diameter: 47mm
- Thickness: 12mm
- Lug to Lug: 55mm
- Lug Width: 22mm
- Case Material: DLC Titanium
- Crown/Hardware: Nickel Plated
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Illinois Watch Company
- Serial Number:
- Manufacture Year:
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 19 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
The Springfield 381 is the 381st one-of-a-kind piece in Vortic's "Springfield" 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 Springfield 381 Unique: We are continuing our featured DLC cases this week with this fantastic Time King movement from Illinois Watch Company. This movement was on the higher end of watches being produced at this time by Illinois, as shown here by the highly decorated main plate and gold-plated hardware throughout. Rose gold gears and gold plated balance, this watch was truly at the top of its class in 1922 when it was originally manufactured. The details in the dial are remarkably impressive and really tell the story of this watch. We love the stark black case paired with these very unique numerals and decided to finish off the details with a natural band and nickel crown. Not too far away in the Bronx, NY construction of the Yankee Stadium begins. Radio was booming all over the country and baseball was growing in popularity as well with more access across the country to games that before were only seen in person.
1922
4020044
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.
