Watch Description
What makes the Springfield 503 unique: Today, we're pleased to present this remarkable piece originally manufactured by the Illinois Watch Company almost a century ago — the Springfield 503. The Springfield features an antique dial with dark, stylized numerals and rustic hour and minute hands. We encased the original pocket watch within our gleaming, scratch-resistant Machined Titanium case, drawing further attention to the piece's historic, cream-colored background. We also equipped the watch with an eye-catching copper crown. The back of the watch has a 405-grade open-face movement with a going barrel, nickel finish, and pendant setting. Additionally, you can view the timepiece's robust bronze-plated gears powered by 17 luxurious jewels throughout the movement's center bridge plate. To tie the piece together, we matched it with our hand-crafted Cordovan Black leather watch strap, adding even more style to the final product. The Illinois Watch Company initially produced the historic pocket watch in Springfield, Illinois, in 1923 — the same year that the iconic musician Louis Armstrong made his first studio recordings. Armstrong's first studio session was with his mentor Joe "King" Oliver, an experienced cornet player and band leader. Electrical recording wasn't invented until 1926, so Armstrong and Oliver's band made their early recordings by playing acoustically into a funnel that was connected to the needle of a phonograph. Armstrong played so loudly during the session that he had to stand fifteen feet away from the rest of the band. Otherwise, he completely hid the sound of Oliver's cornet.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: Copper
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Illinois Watch Company
- Serial Number: 4177914
- Manufacture Year: 1923
- 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.
