Watch Description
What makes the Springfield 511 unique: Today, we’re thrilled to present this remarkable antique piece originally manufactured by the Illinois Watch Company — the Springfield 511. The Springfield boasts a magnificent bronze-colored dial with an intricate, floral center design. It also features black numerals and blue diamond kite watch hands. We paired this historic pocket watch with our robust Machined Titanium case and nickel-plated crown. The gleaming case and crown draw further attention to the piece’s highly unique dial. On the back of the watch, you can view its 405-grade open-face movement with a nickel finish, pendant setting, and going barrel. The movement’s center bridge plate features a breathtaking engraving that reads “The Garland.” The timepiece also features gold-plated gears powered by 17 stunning jewels. Finally, we equipped the watch with our hand-crafted Moss leather watch strap, matching the historic piece’s dial. The Illinois Watch Company initially produced the Springfield 511’s pocket watch in Springfield, Illinois, in 1926 — the same year that Reverend Dr. William Archer Rutherfoord Goodwin began restoring Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. The Colonial Williamsburg restoration preserved 88 original colonial buildings within its 173 acres. In 1960, the U.S. government designated the site as a National Historic Landmark District.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: Nickel Plated
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Illinois Watch Company
- Serial Number: 4829205
- Manufacture Year: 1926
- 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.
