What makes the Springfield 542 unique: Today, we’re happy to present to you this luxurious watch originally manufactured by the Illinois Watch Company over a century ago — the Springfield 542. This antique watch boasts a remarkable dial with a stunning center design made up of a floral pattern and a seven-pointed star. The front of the watch also features dark golden numerals that look splendid against its gold-colored background, and it also features blued steel heavy moon watch hands. We emphasized the dial’s sumptuous colors by encasing it within our robust Machined Titanium case and topped it off with a gold-plated crown. Our Machined Titanium case features an open back that allows you to view the pocket watch’s original inner workings, including a 410-grade open-face movement with a jeweled motor barrel and center bridge plate. The back of the watch also displays gold-plated gears with 23 breathtaking ruby and sapphire jewels. Finally, we matched this impressive watch with our Cordovan Oxblood leather watch strap, making the completed product even more unforgettable.

The Illinois Watch Company initially produced the Springfield 542’s pocket watch in Springfield, Illinois, in 1920 — the same year the nonprofit American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was founded. A committee that included several notable figures — including the likes of Helen Keller, Roger Nash Baldwin, Crystal Eastman, Arthur Garfield Hays, and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn — started the ACLU in response to the Palmer raids, a series of arrests carried out by the United States Department of Justice. The raids occurred during the First Red Scare and aimed to search, arrest, and deport immigrants suspected of being anarchists and communists. Five years later, the ACLU made a name for itself after convincing John T. Scopes to go against Tennessee’s ban on teaching evolution in schools. They served as Scopes’ legal defense during the Scopes trial, and although they lost the case, the organization quickly reached the nation’s attention in the high publicity case.