Watch Description
What makes the Springfield 536 unique: Today, we’re excited to showcase this wearable piece of history initially produced by the Illinois Watch Company almost a century ago — the Springfield 536. This stunning, antique piece features a gold-colored dial with stylish black numerals and a useful subdial. You can also view the watch’s breathtaking blued steel diamond kite hands, which glimmer brilliantly against the dial’s golden colors. We emphasized the dial’s sumptuous design by encasing it within our Machined Titanium case and equipped it with a gleaming gold-plated crown. Our Machined Titanium case boasts a transparent back, enabling you to view the pocket watch’s original 274-grade open-face movement that sports a nickel finish and pendant setting. The movement’s conspicuous engraving reading “Santa Fe Special” refers to the Santa Fe Railroad line. This remarkable pocket watch also features gold-plated gears as well as 21 jewels throughout its ¾ plate. Finally, we made this watch wearable by matching it with our Olive leather watch strap, making this one-of-a-kind antique piece even more distinct and attractive.The Illinois Watch Company originally manufactured the Springfield 536’s pocket watch in Springfield, Illinois, in 1923 — the same year Clarence Birdseye invented the contemporary method for freezing food. Humans have likely used the freezing method of preserving food for thousands of years, but Clarence Birdseye created the modern frozen food industry through his particular preservation method. Birdseye froze food by using refrigerant-filled hollow metal plates that could maintain a cooled temperature of between -21 to -50 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, Birdseye would fill cartons full of food and place the cartons between metal plates. With this innovative preservation method, Birdseye created the first frozen food company: Birds Eye.
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: Gold Plated
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Illinois Watch Company
- Serial Number: 4298922
- Manufacture Year: 1923
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 21 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
The Illinois Watch Company originally manufactured the Springfield 536’s pocket watch in Springfield, Illinois, in 1923 — the same year Clarence Birdseye invented the contemporary method for freezing food. Humans have likely used the freezing method of preserving food for thousands of years, but Clarence Birdseye created the modern frozen food industry through his particular preservation method. Birdseye froze food by using refrigerant-filled hollow metal plates that could maintain a cooled temperature of between -21 to -50 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, Birdseye would fill cartons full of food and place the cartons between metal plates. With this innovative preservation method, Birdseye created the first frozen food company: Birds Eye.
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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.
