Ever since the brand was founded by two Penn State students in 2013, Vortic Watch Company has been one of our favorite developing companies to watch. At a hotel located right outside the Baselworld fair last month, I had the opportunity to once again meet with founder RT Custer where he showed me his current focus: bringing vintage American railroad pocket watches back to life as wristwatches. That’s right, Vortic, a brand that has made this sort of revitalization its nucleus, has turned its lens onto what was once considered the pinnacle of American horology.

In the early 20thcentury, almost all big business in the United States depended on the railroad. As such, it was necessary that the railroads remained on time and any delays accounted for. In those early days, it wasn?t uncommon for devastating accidents to occur when someone switched tracks too early or late and ending up in the path of some other train. Because of this, safeguards were put in place that included the requirement for a conductor to carry a pocket watch that had a movement with a lever actuator. A lever actuator made it impossible to set the time via pulling the crown out like a normal vintage or contemporary watch. This was necessary due to a number of accidents involving the watch’s crown catching on a piece of clothing or equipment, altering the time, and putting the conductor in a state of horological ? and rail ? jeopardy.

How you would adjust the time on these compulsory timepieces...