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American Brands
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American Brands
Vortic Watches
Vortic’ s American Artisan Series watches feature antique, U. S.-made pocket watch movements that the owner directs to be customized into a new wristwatch with a 3-D printed titanium case made with a steel back and bezel.
Online at vorticwatches. com customers can choose from re-conditioned Elgin, Illinois or Waltham vintage movements and then choose from several cases, dial and strap options to configure their own wristwatch design. The water-resistant cases are 3-D printed from titanium by Imperial Machine and Tool in New Jersey, and then assembled by hand at Vortic’ s facilities in Colorado. All components, including screws and crowns, are machined in Colorado. In addition, Vortic’ s straps and buckles are U. S.-made, as are the Corning Gorilla Glass crystals, which are made in California.
Likewise, Vortic customers can also configure customized Railroad Edition wristwatches that utilize vintage movements, but with an emphasis on restored, lever-set, railroad-grade pocket watch movements that were originally manufactured by one of the various great American watch companies. As with the American Artisan Series, customers can choose( online) among movements, include the Hamilton 992B, Ball 999B, Illinois Bunn Special, as well as caliber made by Elgin, B. W. Raymond and Waltham Vanguard. Vortic will also assist in locating a particular movement. Prices begin at about $ 1,995.
In addition, Vortic offers a very limited selection of pre-assembled wristwatches made with silver or steel cases and vintage pocket watch movements. While many of these one-of-kind wristwatches have already been sold, several collections have models still available.
Finally, Vortic is currently taking pre-orders for the Journeyman, a small-batch run of custom-built titanium-cased wristwatches that feature a new U. S.-created movement being created by Los Angeles-based watchmaker Cameron Weiss. Vortic says every component of the mechanical movement is to be made in the United States apart from the Swiss-made jewels and hairspring. Production and shipping of the first watches is expected to begin in mid 2017.
Vortic’ s“ The Boston” model of watches feature antique Waltham pocket watch movements originally made in Watch City in the late 1800s and early 1900s. These salvaged pieces of American manufacturing history are meticulously restored using only original parts, and built into custom, one-ofa-kind timepieces. Check Vorticwatches. com for availability.
66 | AboutTime Magazine