Watch Description
What makes the Springfield 489 unique: Today, we’re pleased to showcase this beauty originally manufactured by the Illinois Watch Company — the Springfield 489. The Springfield is almost one hundred years old, and it proudly exudes its historic style through its sophisticated dial. It features an antique, cream-colored background along with dark, bold numerals. The dial also features an elegantly-designed center pattern and greenish-blue hour and minute hands. We equipped this marvelous piece with our scratch-resistant Machined Titanium case along with a nickel-colored crown. The glimmering case and crown emphasize the dial’s antique, rustic style. The back of the watch boasts bronze-plated gears powered by 19 jewels atop its center bridge plate, and the watch also sports a 406-grade open-face movement with a nickel finish and pendant setting. This watch was originally adjusted for three positions, however, we have now adjusted it to six total positions for the highest timekeeping accuracy. Finally, we added even more style to this one-of-a-kind piece by pairing it with our Rye leather watch strap. The Illinois Watch Company initially manufactured this piece in 1923 — the same year that Time Magazine released its first issue. Briton Hadden and Henry Luce started the publication in New York City, and they originally intended to call the magazine “Facts.” They changed the name to Time and created an accompanying slogan, “Take Time — It’s Brief.” The first cover featured the 35th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Joseph Gurney Cannon. Since the first issue of Time, the magazine has featured a variety of political figures on the cover. President Richard Nixon holds the record of appearing the most times with 55 covers.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: Sandblasted Titanium
- Crown/Hardware: Nickel Plated
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Illinois Watch Company
- Serial Number: 4293271
- Manufacture Year: 1923
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 19 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.
