Watch Description
What makes the Springfield 482 unique: Today, we’re excited to present you this sophisticated timepiece originally produced by the Illinois Watch Company in 1922 — the Springfield 482. The watch’s dial features a breathtaking center design as well as aged, dark numerals atop its light-tan background. The front of the watch also displays dark-gray diamond kite hands with a touch of blue. We matched this elegant watch with our glimmering Machined Titanium case and equipped it with a luxurious-looking gold-plated crown, making the piece even more stunning. Our Machined Titanium case has an open back that exhibits the pocket watch’s 405-grade open-face movement with a nickel finish, pendant setting, and going barrel. The watch also boasts a stylish “Sterling” label engraving as well as bronze-plated gears powered by 17 jewels throughout its center bridge plate. To top it all off, we equipped the piece with our comfortable and stylish Stout leather watch strap, adding even more elegance to the final watch. The Illinois Watch Company initially produced the Springfield 482’s pocket watch in Springfield, Illinois, in 1922 — the same year that DeWitt and Lila Bell Wallace founded the Reader’s Digest magazine. DeWitt Wallace began compiling articles to formulate the first Reader’s Digest issue while recovering from a shrapnel wound he suffered in World War I. When first starting the magazine, the Wallaces hoped to earn a net profit of $5000, but the magazine was such a success that it made a gross annual income of $900,000 — over $15 million in 2022 — by 1929.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.
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Watch Specifications
- Manufacturer: Vortic Watch Company
- Warranty: Full 1-Year Warranty
- Case Dimensions:
- Diameter: 47mm
- Thickness: 12mm
- Lug to Lug: 55mm
- Lug Width: 22mm
- Case Material: Machined Titanium
- Crown/Hardware: Gold Plated
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Illinois Watch Company
- Serial Number: 4075496
- Manufacture Year: 1922
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 17 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
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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.
