Microbrand
Vortic Watch Co.
vorticwatches.comFounded in 2014 by Penn State classmates R.T. Custer and Tyler Wolfe, Vortic began as a university design project when the founders noticed their metal 3D-printed prototypes had a uniquely vintage look. Launched with Kickstarter funding and now based in Fort Collins, Colorado, the company reverse-engineers cases to preserve original American-made movements, dials, and hands from historic makers like Waltham, Elgin, Illinois, Hamilton, and Ball. Each piece in the American Artisan Series is fully American made and unique by serial number. Vortic has been featured in The New York Times, NPR, and The Boston Globe, has watches in the National Watch and Clock Museum, and is the official watch partner of Red Rocks Amphitheater.
Worth knowing
These are made-to-order, vintage-movement pieces priced in the multi-thousand-dollar range, so they are far costlier and less repeatable than typical quartz or off-the-shelf-automatic microbrands, and each runs on a century-old hand-wound movement rather than a modern, water-resistant caliber.
The watches
