{"id":50906,"date":"2023-09-27T00:00:34","date_gmt":"2023-09-27T04:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gentologie.com\/?p=50906"},"modified":"2026-03-06T21:19:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T02:19:55","slug":"vortic-watch-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gentologie.com\/en\/style\/accessories\/watches\/vortic-watch-company\/","title":{"rendered":"Vortic Watch Company: Watches built from history"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In mid-September, I was lucky enough to travel to Colorado to visit the facilities of the Vortic Watch Company. This company creates watches by integrating pocket watches from 10 American companies from the last century into 3D printed metal cases! It\u2019s an incredible piece of research that puts real works of art on your wrist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Idea behind Vortic Watch Company<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n
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\"R.T.-Custer-and-Tyler-Wolfe---Vortic-Watch-Company\"
Tyler Wolfe & R.T. Custer, cofounders of Vortic Watch Company
Photo : Vortic Watch Company<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

It was while playing golf with friends that Robert Thomas (R.T.) Custer and his partner Tyler Wolfe (the latter is more reserved, but he\u2019s the mechanical brains behind the company), both industrial engineering students at Penn State University, came up with the idea for the Vortic Watch Company on a golf course just over 10 years ago. It was during his studies that Mr. Custer became interested in the mechanics of watches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After giving birth to the company in Pennsylvania, the two friends moved and transferred the business to Fort Collins, Colorado. Initially, they moved to pursue career opportunities before dedicating themselves full-time to Vortic. They fell in love with the place and decided to officially establish the company in Fort Collins.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Watch-pieces\"
Some of the parts used to make a Vortic watch
Photo : Normand Boulanger | Gentologie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

With a passion for watches that has driven them since childhood, they revere what they now see as the simple task of recording time with precision and the elegance with which it is accomplished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The start and choice of watches companies<\/h2>\n\n\n
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\"Pocket-Watch-Waltham\"
The Waltham pocket Watch
Photo : Vortic Watch Company<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

So, backtracking a little, after seeing that their 3D printed metal prototypes as part of a university design project had a unique retro look, Custer and Wolfe decided to combine cutting-edge metal 3D printing technology with beautiful antique pocket watch movements made in the USA to create bespoke wristwatches. So each watch is unique. They produce around 300 a year.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Original-Watch-Military-Edition---Vortic-Watch-Company\"
One of the original watches for the Military Edition
Photo : Normand Boulanger | Gentologie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

And if you\u2019re wondering why make a watch from scratch in the United States (a bit of a crazy project these days), you can\u2019t get more American than R. T. Custer, co-founder and CEO of Vortic Watches. He is the seventh cousin of General George Custer, famous for his last stand at the Battle of Little Bighorn. General Custer\u2019s brother was R.T.\u2019s great-great-great-grandfather.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Watch-faces---Vortic-Watch-Company\"
Pocket watch dials
Photo : Vortic Watch Company<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The real inspiration behind the watches in Vortic\u2019s \u201cAmerican Artisan\u201d series is the simple idea that the United States built watches once before. Before the country turned away from watchmaking in the mid-1,900s, our neighbours to the south produced millions of beautiful, high-quality pocket watches that became much more than just a way to tell the time. Pocket watches made in the country became family heirlooms passed down from generation to generation, testifying to the deep roots of quality manufacturing in America that, though covered in grime, still exist today.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Watch-dials---Chevrolet--La-Vortic-Watch-Company\"
Thousands of dials, some bearing the effigy of Chevrolet
Photo: Normand Boulanger | Gentologie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Recognizing that many antique pocket watch movements had become orphaned from their precious metal cases (many people sell metals for money), the principals of the Vortic Watch Company found the strength to restore and preserve these beautiful pieces in a functional way. By reverse-engineering old parts, they were able to create a wristwatch case that housed pocket watch movements in the same way as the original pocket watch case. They continued to develop this process, and the \u201cAmerican Artisan\u201d series was born.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"The-10-american-companies-of-pocket-watches---Vortic-Watch-Company\"
The different pocket watch companies
Photo : Vortic Watch Company<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The pocket watch companies that Vortic has chosen for its transformations are the following (because of the quantities produced and their condition).<\/p>\n\n\n\n