Omega Resurrects Caliber 321, the first movement on the Moon

Yesterday Omega announced the resurrection of its historically famous caliber 321, the original movement that made it to the moon in the Omega Speedmasters of Apollo 11 mission crew : Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.  

To this day, this movement is continuously praised by watch enthusiasts and watchmakers alike for its practical elegance and reliable simplicity. The column wheel lateral clutch chronograph was first released in 1940’s and was put in a sports watch dubbed Speedmaster in 1957.

Meanwhile, the American space program made its first steps, and by the time it sent pilots on Earth's orbit, Omega Speedmaster was a personal choice of a number of astronauts. 

In 1964 NASA pushed for standardization of the timing equipment and contacted a number of watch houses to commission a space watch. Only 4 brands came through. Hamilton offered their pocket watch which was immediately disqualified due to NASA's firm intent of a wristwatch. Omega Speedmaster  beat Rolex Cosmograph and Longines 235T (the other two main contenders) head-to-head after extensive temperature, magnetic, and shock resistance tests carried out by NASA. In fact, it was the only watch that survived the tests. Omega Speedmaster powered by cal 321 became the standard equipment of a NASA astronaut. It accompanied Neil Armstrong when he made the first step on the moon and timed Ed White’s first American space walk. 

Due to a strong push for research and continuous improvement by Omega, Cal 321 was discontinued in 1968 and replaced by cal 1861 (Omega/Lemania), a cam shaft chronograph which is found in most Speedmaster Professional series in the last 50 years. 

Modern Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional

Column wheel chronograph is a much more elegant design engineering-wise than a cam shaft. The prestige and public attention of column wheel chronographs have been on the steep uptrend for a few years now. Even beginner and occasional enthusiasts learn the difference early in the game. Meanwhile, celebrity watch collectors elevated the cal 321 status to “the best chronograph ever made”, watchmakers kept mentioning it as a golden standard of chronograph design, and bloggers hyped it up non stop in countless posts on history of the moonwatch. I am sure Omega caught the gist of it and understood that cal 321 will be an opium for the masses of horophiles conditioned by online research.  

Well, huge props to Omega by, actually, putting an effort to please their fans. I am sure this move required tons of funding and time. The resurrection of a movement is no easy fit. They definitely presented themselves as the good guys who listen to the watch community.

Now lets speculate on the impact of this release. Well, first of all, Omega has to be really careful to not make seem cal 1861 as an inferior movement. Imagine millions of Speedy fans out there who sing lullabies to their grail watches before bed. Now you tell them Omega is to release the original legendary best of the best version, the real first watch on the moon. This undoubtedly belittles the image of the 1861. Suicides might happen... This effect will be amplified even more if the price difference between cal 321 resurrection and the existing 1861 is significant. And I have no doubt it will be! It is going to compete with El Primero, IWC chronos, and B01. Maybe even, it will be after Daytona! Rolex, watch out!  

I can imagine Omega envisioning millions of dusty 1861’s lying in the drawers while everyone is lining up to get the new exciting watch. 

All the sarcasm aside, this is a very important release in the world of horology. It may single handedly  outshine the whole of Baselworld 2019, which we all know Swatch will not be a part of. Caliber 321 is a fantastic movement. Omega claims it reproduced it true to the original using the museum piece worn by Gene Cernan aboard Apollo 17. Omega promised every cal 321 to be assembled by a single watchmaker in a dedicated workshop. Now this is music to the ears of horophiles jaded by the mass production practices of large houses.

 I predict that it will be first released in a 39mm Speedmaster case version with straight lugs to fully pay tribute to the original moon watch.

I can't wait for the story to unfold and first hands-on reviews to pop up. Meanwhile, lets enjoy more hype pouring in from all the corners of the watch community.