All-American Hands-On and Interview with Vortic Watches
What better way to celebrate Independence Day than by taking a closer look at an American company going their own way.
By Josh Shanks
Contributor
2018 has seen an unprecedented push towards revisiting wristwatch icons of yesteryear. We’ve seen everything from faux patina to outright carbon copy clones of past editions. I’m not saying this is a bad thing, there’s been some astonishingly good vintage reissues produced over the past few years. It’s safe to say vintage revisitation has reached a fever pitch.
In fact, most of the brands we write about on a daily basis have been guilty of seeking inspiration from their archives in one way or another. It’s a reality that’s here to stay as long as people continue to purchase these watches. If Baselworld 2018 was any indication, this trend shows no sign of stopping.
Enter Vortic Watches
One company operating entirely in their own vintage inspired realm is Vortic watches. This upstart brand out of Fort Collins, Colorado brings something entirely different to the table. Founded in 2013 by R.T. Custer and Tyler Wolfe, Vortic brings engineering know-how and a quintessentially old-school aesthetic to all of their watches.
What intrigues me the most about Vortic is how they honor America’s industrial past. These days, many think that watchmaking as we know it began in Switzerland. You would indeed be mistaken. Less than 100 years ago, American companies such as Waltham, Elgin, Bulova, Hamilton, and more led the world in mass production of pocket watches. The Swiss later purchased many of these brands and used their patents, tools, parts, and processes to bring Swiss watchmaking into the 21stcentury.
Like their ancestors, Vortic watches recognizes and respects America’s industrialized past. The brand’s collections merge innovative rapid prototyping tools (i.e. 3D printing) and antique pocket watch parts to tailor make each of their watches.
While the founders of Vortic are relatively young, with just one glance at their pieces, you can tell these gents have old souls.
Hands-On with Vortic Watches
Recently, we had the opportunity to sit down with Vortic Co-Founder R.T. Custer. I always look forward to my meetings with Vortic because on any given day you may see something different. As nearly all of their watches are bespoke (and they sell quick), you’re almost guaranteed to not see the same watch twice.
Vortic’s core collection is made up of three models. The American Artisan series was Vortic’s first watch. Originally launched on Kickstarter, this collection uses 3D printed titanium cases and Vortic retrofits vintage US Made pocket watch movements from some of the biggest American brands of yesteryear. For the American Artisan series, the brand offers an online customizer which allows buyers to select everything from straps to cases. Because of their custom nature, case sizes vary from 36mm to 51mm. Vortic says their most popular size is 46mm.
Next is Vortic’s Railroad Edition, which is a collection of railroad inspired timepieces. As you can see in the photos, the case finishing is elevated in these models. The case is CNC milled from a solid block of titanium and brush finished to give it more of a tool watch look. What most impressed me on this collection was Vortic’s reverse-engineering of classic lever-set movements. These railroad grade movements have been used and abused over the years, and while you may see railroad pocket watches in your local flea market, Vortic has gone above and beyond to refurbish and retro-fit these movements into modern case. At 51mm the Railroad Edition is also Vortic’s largest watch.
Lastly, the Journeyman Series is Vortic’s most recent collection. This is an entirely new line for the young brand. Comprised of modern components mostly made in America. Instead of using vintage parts, this series is all new. From the case, to the enamel dials, the Journeyman Series represents what a production model could look like if Vortic were to go completely their own way. More details are on the way, but for now, you can check Vortic’s site here.
Interview with Co-Founder R.T. Custer
I spoke with Custer prior to publishing to pick his brain on all things Vortic. Below is an excerpt from our discussion.
Josh Shanks: As a technology guy, I notice Vortic doing some really interesting things with 3D printing and engineers. From an innovation standpoint, what’s next for the brand?
R.T. Custer: We’ve used metal 3D printing since 2014, it was more out of necessity for cash flow than anything else. When you can 3D print watch cases you can have lower order quantities. So, it was more of a business decision. Compared to CNC or Stamping, you’re far less than the 500 minimum quantities required, plus we didn’t want to be locked into the same dimensions for a bulk order.
Recently, we bought our own CNC mill and we’re going away from 3D and into milling. For example, the new Railroad Edition is milled from a solid block of titanium. Plus, since it’s our machine, we don’t have to worry about minimum order quantities. 3D printing isn’t totally going away for us but will be used more for textures and aesthetics than the prototyping that we used it for originally. 3D printed metal just plain looks different and we can add cool colors!
JS: I’m curious, I’ve seen everything from Elgins to Waltham movements and dials in your products. What brands do you see yourself using the most movements from? Is one rarer than the other?
RT: We’ve designed an engineering system that can house almost any American pocket watch movement and dial. We can take movements from nearly any company and turn it into a wristwatch. We usually work with size 12 or 16 American pocket watch movements. While we use a lot of Elgin, the rarest may be Seth Thomas, since most of their watches were 18 size (huge), I get a thrill when I find a smaller Seth Thomas movement, it’s like hitting the lottery! It’s important to note, that generally only one in five of the movements we acquire can be refurbished and use.
JS: Ok, the $1,000,000 question. The future of watchmaking in America, how do you see it?
RT: Good question, it’s different for us because we’re competing with ‘Swiss Made’. The term has so much intrinsic value to US consumers.
Today, it’s less about branding and more about location of manufacture. The only way American made can compete with Swiss Made is if we go back to our roots from the early 1900s. Hamilton, Waltham, and Elgin all worked together to build the industry. All of the executives behind these brands were friends, they shared movements, cases, and parts. Ultimately, these companies got together and created standardization for all of their products.
So that’s a good example of what US brands could do to elevate US watchmaking.
