Watch Description
What makes the Springfield 515 unique: Today, we’re pleased to present this exquisite piece initially produced by the Illinois Watch Company over a century ago — the Springfield 515. The original pocket watch features a highly unique dial with a detailed center design, black bold numerals, and an eye-catching blue-gray background color. The front of the watch also boasts breathtaking aqua heavy moon watch hands and a helpful subdial. We made this piece even more special by encasing it within our robust Machined Titanium case, and we equipped it with a nickel-plated crown. On the back of the watch, you can view its stunning inner workings, including its 404-grade open-face movement with a nickel finish and pendant setting. The piece also comes with gold-plated gears and 17 stunning jewels throughout its center bridge plate. Finally, we matched the piece with our simple yet stylish handcrafted Black leather watch strap, complementing the pocket watch’s gorgeous design and colors.The Illinois Watch Company originally manufactured the Springfield 515’s splendid pocket watch in Springfield, Illinois, in 1917 — the same year that the women’s suffrage group the Silent Sentinels of Liberty protested outside of the White House during Woodrow Wilson’s presidency. The National Woman’s Party and suffragette Alice Stokes Paul organized the picket protest made up of over 2,000 women. Around 500 of the protesters were arrested for the illegal protest, and 168 ended up serving jail time. Two years after the Silent Sentinel’s White House protest, the House of Representatives and Senate passed the Nineteenth Amendment, granting women the right to vote.
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: 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: 3147146
- Manufacture Year: 1917
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 17 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
The Illinois Watch Company originally manufactured the Springfield 515’s splendid pocket watch in Springfield, Illinois, in 1917 — the same year that the women’s suffrage group the Silent Sentinels of Liberty protested outside of the White House during Woodrow Wilson’s presidency. The National Woman’s Party and suffragette Alice Stokes Paul organized the picket protest made up of over 2,000 women. Around 500 of the protesters were arrested for the illegal protest, and 168 ended up serving jail time. Two years after the Silent Sentinel’s White House protest, the House of Representatives and Senate passed the Nineteenth Amendment, granting women the right to vote.
Let customers speak for us
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.
