Watch Description
What makes the Springfield 508 unique: Today, we’re excited to showcase this one-of-a-kind piece initially produced by the Illinois Watch Company nearly a century ago — the Springfield 508. This antique watch features an aged dial with an intricate center design and a rustic beige background. Its dial also boasts unique black numerals and dark-aqua gothic hour and minute hands. We encased this historic pocket watch within our Gunmetal Titanium case and paired it with a copper crown. The bold case and sumptuous crown draw further attention to the watch’s remarkable dial. Our Gunmetal Titanium case features a transparent back, revealing the pocket watch’s 406-grade open-face movement with a going barrel. You can also view the piece’s breathtaking “Wasco” engraving and its bronze-plated gears powered by 19 jewels. To top it off, we matched the timepiece with our Natural leather watch strap, complementing the dial’s design. The Illinois Watch Company originally manufactured this piece in Springfield, Illinois, in 1923 — the same year the Crescent Sign Company created the original Hollywood Sign in Griffith Park, Los Angeles. The original sign was “Hollywoodland,” and it served as an advertisement for a new housing development. Although the sign was only supposed to be up for a year and a half, it became an icon for the American film industry. In 1945, Los Angeles obtained the land underneath the Hollywoodland sign, and the city restored the deteriorating sign four years later and shortened it to “Hollywood.”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
- Warranty: Full 1-Year Warranty
- Case Dimensions:
- Diameter: 47mm
- Thickness: 12mm
- Lug to Lug: 55mm
- Lug Width: 22mm
- Case Material: Gunmetal Titanium
- Crown/Hardware: Copper
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Illinois Watch Company
- Serial Number: 4280049
- 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.
