Watch Description
What makes the Springfield 537 unique: We’re thrilled to showcase this stunning piece originally manufactured by the Illinois Watch Company in 1923 — the Springfield 537. The watch features an eye-catching, antique dial with an aged, cream-colored background and bold, dark-blue numerals. The front of the watch also displays a matching subdial and teal diamond-shaped kite hands. We matched this historic pocket watch with our Machined Titanium case and topped it off with a nickel-plated crown. Our Machined Titanium case features a transparent back, enabling you to view the watch’s Autocrat-grade open-face movement. This movement boasts gold-plated gears as well as 17 screw-set jewels throughout its center bridge plate. The keen-eyed among you will notice that the gilt engraving reads “The Autocrat” - but this watch has an interesting feature if you look even closer. At some point in the past, an overzealous watchmaker managed to scratch the surface of the plates while servicing the watch! For us, this is fascinating evidence of the living history our watches represent. Finally, we equipped this remarkable watch with our comfortable and artisan-designed Natural leather watch strap, making the finished product even more stylish and memorable.The Illinois Watch Company initially produced the Springfield 537’s pocket watch in Springfield, Illinois, in 1923 — the same year that the USS Shenandoah launched at the Lakehurst Maxfield Field in New Jersey, which was the location of the Hindenburg disaster in 1937. Shenandoah was the U.S. Navy’s first airship, and it was also the first airship to fly across North America. Tragically, the airship crashed in Caldwell, Ohio, in 1925, killing 14 members of the 43-person flight crew.
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: 4385088
- Manufacture Year: 1923
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 17 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
The Illinois Watch Company initially produced the Springfield 537’s pocket watch in Springfield, Illinois, in 1923 — the same year that the USS Shenandoah launched at the Lakehurst Maxfield Field in New Jersey, which was the location of the Hindenburg disaster in 1937. Shenandoah was the U.S. Navy’s first airship, and it was also the first airship to fly across North America. Tragically, the airship crashed in Caldwell, Ohio, in 1925, killing 14 members of the 43-person flight crew.
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.
