Throughout the 1800’s, America was one of the premier watchmaking countries in the world. During that time, ten great American pocket watchmakers crafted tens of millions of watches, often renowned for their technical ability and style.
But, as the century wore on, the industry began to flounder. By the mid-1900’s most of the major watch companies had moved their operations overseas.
Many of these watches have since been relegated to attics and closets, serving as a reminder of America’s once great watchmaking legacy.
Now, one Colorado startup is looking to preserve this American history, one watch at a time.
RT Custer and Tyler Wolfe were always watch fanatics, and one day on the golf course while students at Penn State, they came up with the idea that would become Vortic Watch Co.
“We had a bunch of ideas, and a lot of them were around watches. We thought, ‘what if we could make a wrist watch actually made in the U.S.?’” Custer said.
So, the pair began exploring what it would take. They found out that the tiny mechanisms that allowed movement inside watches weren’t being produced in the U.S. anymore.
Rather than give up on the idea, they began to explore the history and legacy of pocket watches.
“The best watches ever made were made in America,” Custer said. “Now people scrap them for the gold, silver or the case and the mechanisms are just thrown away. Nobody has use for these pocket watches anymore.”
With millions of watches gathering dust across the country, Custer and Wolfe began developing a way to revive these American crafts.
Vortic Watches restores the guts from old pocket watches, the mechanical gears, dial and face, before repurposing them into a modern wrist watch. Custer said they source these watches from pawn shops, Craigslist and direct inquiries.
The company, which launched its initial Kickstarter in 2014, sources all its materials from America and builds the watches out of their Fort Collins headquarters.
When they first started making the watches, Custer said they had to source many of the parts from other American makers. Now, with six employees and a growing array of machinery, Vortic Watch Co. is able to produce much of their watches in house.
“When we first started, they looked totally different than they do today, they weren’t water resistant for example,” Custer said. “Most of those changes have come from bringing processes in house and by the end of 2019 we will make every single component here in Fort Collins.”
The company offers a variety of pre-built watches ranging in price from $2,000 up to $4,000. Customers can also design custom watches using an online tool or have Vortic refurbish a personal pocket watch into a wrist watch.
Custer said Vortic has created a loyal customer base, with 40 percent of customers having at least two watches.
The company raised a $500,000 seed round in 2018 headlined by Rockies Venture Club and Techstars co-founders David Cohen and David Brown. Custer said they aren’t currently planning another round of equity funding in the near future.
As the company grows, Custer said Vortic’s mission to preserve this piece of American history has remained the same.
“We’ll keep doing what we’re doing, to preserve and enhance the legacy of manufacturing excellence in America,” he said.
