Introducing the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Master Chronometer Caliber 3861

Omega said “present” on the first Tuesday of 2021 to introduce its new collection of Speedmaster Moonwatch and of course it could not have chosen a better day than the first “Speedy Tuesday” of the new year.

There are four variants of the new Moonwatch that added to different strap options add up to four more, summarizing each of the four variants are offered with two types of strap, which makes eight different offers available on the market.

As for the four variants, we have two in stainless-steel, one with Hesalite crystal with the option of steel bracelet or nylon bracelet, and with Sapphire crystal with the option of steel bracelet or leather bracelet. Then we have two variants in gold, one in Rose Gold, the designated Sedna gold by Omega and the other in White Gold, the designated Canopus gold by Omega, both variants in gold can be purchased with a gold bracelet or leather strap.

This is a vibrant announcement since we’re talking about the historic Speedmaster Moonwatch and that despite maintaining its main features, something else wouldn’t be expected, this new Moonwatch brings a global renewal, in terms of the case, changes on the dial, bracelet and on the internal movement. As you have already realized, there will be a lot to talk about, so we will not waste time and we will now go on to address each of these points.

In the 42mm case we did not notice any major changes, it is based on the original Moonwatch ref. 105.012 and receives exactly the same case of the Speedmaster Silver Snoopy Award ’50th Anniversary that we had the opportunity to talk about here when it was launched.

It is in the aluminium bezel that we can find an alteration, the Dot-over Ninety, that if we join the permanence of the accent on the “E” and the Dot-lower right Seventy it goes to meet the original Moonwatch, if you want to know more about these small (big) details that delight collectors and enthusiasts, we invite you to read the article by Fratello Watches that talks about these changes over time and whose link we leave here.

In the case back we find differences between the variant with Hesalite glass which has a case back in solid steel and the remaining three variants with Sapphire crystal which have the case back with sapphire crystal through which the internal movement can be observed. Here, it is worth noting that there is a difference in height of the box, with a further half a-millimeter-thick solid steel case back compared to the sapphire crystal variants. Another of the differences that we find between the version with a solid case back and the versions with sapphire crystal is the text engraved on it, while in the versions with sapphire crystal they only present “The First Watch Worn On The Moon”, in the version with the case back solid beyond that text comes to the usual text “Flight-Qualified by NASA in 1965 For All Manned Space Missions” and if you are aware you should also have noticed that here there is a slight change with the introduction of “in 1965” in relation to the previous ones, which, in terms of interpretation, supposes that the new Moonwatch is not certified by NASA, but that it must fulfil these same requirements taking into account the high-quality standards that the Omega guarantees. We are therefore probably only talking about an administrative detail.

We move immediately to the dial, there we can find a modification in the chapter ring, in which the minute track starts to present three divisions in contrast to the old five divisions, it should be noted that this modification has exclusively to do with the frequency of the new movement, another of the differences that we can observe is in the inscriptions “Speedmaster” and “Professional” that presented different widths and that now present the same dimension. We leave for the end the most interesting detail that once again distinguishes the version with Hesalite glass from the versions with sapphire crystal, the Omega logo in the Hesalite version is printed just like the other inscriptions while the versions with sapphire glass present a logo applied.

Now let’s move on to the bracelet right away, we have the tapered bracelet from 20mm to 15mm (and 14mm for the gold variants) with the usual five links, two interconnections thin and three wide, the difference is that the bracelet has a finish this time brushed on all links with a polished finish on the sides… sorry, I almost forgot that once again there are differences between the Hesalite glass version and the other sapphire crystal versions, with the sapphire crystal versions featuring a mirror-polished finish in interconnection links whereas in the Hesalite glass version the interconnection links have a matte finish. The biggest innovation is even in the clasp that features engraved long strokes and applied logo, which differentiates it from the old versions.

We left the “new” movement to the end, the new Moonwatch now receives the Caliber 3861, with Co-Axial escapement and for the first time with a Master Chronometer certificate by METAS. Throughout history the original and historic Caliber 321 movement has undergone improvements, having first evolved into the Caliber 861 in 1968, later to evolve into the Caliber 1861 and today to the Caliber 3861, which basically features much of the components of its predecessor 1861, of course, improved and more suited to today, so and as already mentioned it features a Co-Axial escapement, resistance to magnetic fields up to 15.000 gauss, a power reserve of 50 hours and hacking feature.

Final considerations, the new version is undoubtedly very interesting, with evident improvements in terms of movement and bracelet, which seems to be adapted to today, maintaining the usual characteristics of the eternal Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch. The choice between the version with Hesalite or Sapphire crystal is for each one, my personal choice would probably be for the Hesalite crystal version as it approaches the original Moonwatch with the bracelet option because in my view this version is more attractive because it has a uniform brushed finish, but that’s me.

General Specifications:

Brand: Omega

Model: Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch Caliber 3861

Reference: 310.32.42.50.01.001 (Hesalite + strap), 310.30.42.50.01.001 (Hesalite + bracelet), 310.32.42.50.01.002 (Sapphire + strap), 310.30.42.50.01.002 (Sapphire + bracelet), 310.63.42.50.01.001 (Sedna gold + strap),  310.60.42.50.01.001 (Sedna gold + bracelet), 310.63.42.50.02.001 (Canopus gold + strap), 310.60.42.50.02.001 (Canopus gold + bracelet)

Dial: Black (Stainless steel, Sedna gold), Silver (Canopus gold)

Lume: Yes

Case Material: Stainless steel (Steel), Sedna gold (Rose gold), Canopus gold (White gold)

Case Dimensions: 42mm Diameter, 13.18 mm (Sapphire crystal) / 13.58 mm (Hesalite glass) thickness

Crystal: Hesalite, Sapphire

Case Back: Stainless steel (Hesalite glass), sapphire crystal

Water Resistance: 50 Meters

Strap: Black nylon strap, Black Leather strap, Stainless steel bracelet, Sedna gold bracelet, Canopus gold bracelet

Caliber: 3861

Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, chronograph, tachymeter

Winding: Manual

Frequency: 21,600 vph

Jewels: 26

Power Reserve: 50 Hours

Master Chronometer Certified: METAS certified

Price: € 6,010 (Hesalite + strap), € 6,340 (Hesalite + bracelet), € 6,890 (Sapphire + strap), € 7,220 (Sapphire + bracelet), € 24,930 (Sedna gold + strap),  € 35,210 (Sedna gold + bracelet), € 30,720 (Canopus gold + strap), € 45,810 (Canopus gold + bracelet)