Watch Description
What makes the Springfield 538 unique: Today, we’re delighted to feature this distinct watch initially produced by the Illinois Watch Company over a century ago — the Springfield 538. This splendid piece boasts stylized gold-colored numerals along with matching diamond kite hands. The front of the watch also features a breathtaking coat of arms and a subdial with blue numerals and a gold-plated hand. We encased this eye-catching pocket watch within our powerful Blued Titanium case, emphasizing the dial’s golden details, and we topped it off with a sumptuous-looking gold-plated crown. Our Blued Titanium case features an open back, enabling you to view the antique pocket watch’s impressive Autocrat-grade open-face movement with a gilt inlay color, radial finish pattern, and nickel finish. The back of the watch also showcases a fitting engraving that reads “The Autocrat” as well as gold-plated gears and 17 screw-set jewels. Finally, we added even more sophistication to this watch by equipping it with our hand-crafted Merlot leather watch strap, matching the coat of arms’ sash.The Illinois Watch Company originally manufactured the Springfield 538’s pocket watch in Springfield, Illinois, in 1923 — the same year the Riegelmann Boardwalk opened in Coney Island. Before the construction of the Riegelmann Boardwalk, Coney Island’s beachfront was mostly inaccessible to the public. Most of the land was privately owned by wealthy developers who constructed seaside resorts and expensive restaurants. In the early 20th century, economists and public associations began championing the construction of the boardwalk to make the area more accessible as well as stimulate the local economy. Once built, the boardwalk was named after Edward J. Riegelmann, the president of the Brooklyn borough, who was heavily involved in the boardwalk’s development. Although the official name remains, Rigelmann actually rejected having the boardwalk be named after him. Instead, he preferred calling it simply the “Coney Island Boardwalk.”
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: Sandblasted Titanium
- Crown/Hardware: Gold Plated
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Illinois Watch Company
- Serial Number: 4385431
- Manufacture Year: 1923
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 17 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
The Illinois Watch Company originally manufactured the Springfield 538’s pocket watch in Springfield, Illinois, in 1923 — the same year the Riegelmann Boardwalk opened in Coney Island. Before the construction of the Riegelmann Boardwalk, Coney Island’s beachfront was mostly inaccessible to the public. Most of the land was privately owned by wealthy developers who constructed seaside resorts and expensive restaurants. In the early 20th century, economists and public associations began championing the construction of the boardwalk to make the area more accessible as well as stimulate the local economy. Once built, the boardwalk was named after Edward J. Riegelmann, the president of the Brooklyn borough, who was heavily involved in the boardwalk’s development. Although the official name remains, Rigelmann actually rejected having the boardwalk be named after him. Instead, he preferred calling it simply the “Coney Island Boardwalk.”
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.
