Watch Description
What makes the Springfield 595 unique: We are very pleased to present to you this beautiful watch converted from an Illinois Watch Company pocket watch, our Springfield 595.
This watch is part of our limited release series of lume-coated dials and hands. Our skilled watchmakers have carefully gone through and added lume to the watch in order to give it glow in the dark qualities for better viewing at night. We are drawn in by the styling and classic look of this watch, with dark bold numerals contrasting this bright, clean, white enamel dial.
This dial is an especially remarkable part of our collection because our watchmaker Kent Parks applied a special Lume by hand, enabling some small details to glow in the dark. Kent says; “The dial has 4 precisely hand-applied coatings of B-17F NoctiLumina to the indexes in the chapter ring behind each number on the dial. It is finished with 2 light coats of Binder 3 to give the lume a "pearl" finish.
“The work is done by hand, and luming 6 coats on such tiny areas demanded the best of my 20 years of experience in this field. We took great pains to select an appropriate dial to lume and made sure we were merely enhancing what was already there. All printing is as seen on the original dial. In fact, with a real close view, the original is enhanced in bright daylight by the tiny white pearls around the chapter ring and the red hands. And at night you can read your watch in a dark room, with less than a minute’s exposure to the light”
The dark blued steel open-kite hands stand out nicely, with the lume details filling in the open design. We cased this watch in our bronzed-titanium case, with a copper crown and hardware to match. We love the decoration on the build plates of this movement, carefully demaskeened by the fine craftsman at the Illinois Watch Company. The pattern has a way of drawing your eye continuously all around the entire piece, perhaps landing on the unique "Capitol" insignia, indicating the model of this rare watch. This watch also features rose-gold gears, a brass balance wheel, and 17 beautiful jewels.
In 1925, the Great Gatsby was published by F. Scott Fitzgerald in New York City. This novel has become one of the most prominent works of literature from this era and is still widely read today. The story includes themes of love, materialism, morality and class that are still relevant in our society today. It's a classic tale about ambition and idealism set against a backdrop of wealth and privilege that resonated with readers at the time it was released and continues to do so even now nearly a century later! It's an inspiring example of how art can transcend generations to remain meaningful for new audiences long after its original release date.
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: Copper
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Horween Shell Cordovan Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Illinois Watch Company
- Serial Number: 4572471
- Manufacture Year: 1925
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 17 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
What makes the Springfield 595 unique: We are very pleased to present to you this beautiful watch converted from an Illinois Watch Company pocket watch, our Springfield 595.
This watch is part of our limited release series of lume-coated dials and hands. Our skilled watchmakers have carefully gone through and added lume to the watch in order to give it glow in the dark qualities for better viewing at night. We are drawn in by the styling and classic look of this watch, with dark bold numerals contrasting this bright, clean, white enamel dial.
This dial is an especially remarkable part of our collection because our watchmaker Kent Parks applied a special Lume by hand, enabling some small details to glow in the dark. Kent says; “The dial has 4 precisely hand-applied coatings of B-17F NoctiLumina to the indexes in the chapter ring behind each number on the dial. It is finished with 2 light coats of Binder 3 to give the lume a "pearl" finish.
“The work is done by hand, and luming 6 coats on such tiny areas demanded the best of my 20 years of experience in this field. We took great pains to select an appropriate dial to lume and made sure we were merely enhancing what was already there. All printing is as seen on the original dial. In fact, with a real close view, the original is enhanced in bright daylight by the tiny white pearls around the chapter ring and the red hands. And at night you can read your watch in a dark room, with less than a minute’s exposure to the light”
The dark blued steel open-kite hands stand out nicely, with the lume details filling in the open design. We cased this watch in our bronzed-titanium case, with a copper crown and hardware to match. We love the decoration on the build plates of this movement, carefully demaskeened by the fine craftsman at the Illinois Watch Company. The pattern has a way of drawing your eye continuously all around the entire piece, perhaps landing on the unique "Capitol" insignia, indicating the model of this rare watch. This watch also features rose-gold gears, a brass balance wheel, and 17 beautiful jewels.
In 1925, the Great Gatsby was published by F. Scott Fitzgerald in New York City. This novel has become one of the most prominent works of literature from this era and is still widely read today. The story includes themes of love, materialism, morality and class that are still relevant in our society today. It's a classic tale about ambition and idealism set against a backdrop of wealth and privilege that resonated with readers at the time it was released and continues to do so even now nearly a century later! It's an inspiring example of how art can transcend generations to remain meaningful for new audiences long after its original release date.
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.
