I agree 100% with you. They have to keep the moonwatch as close to original as possible. It still sells! Why mess with it???

 

The “new” Moonwatch will have a new bracelet and the 3861 movement. YG and WG versions are also coming back into the catalog. Omega has been very up front that they’re moving to coaxial movements as they modernize their products. It’s one of the reasons they now offer a 5 year warranty.

 

I’m all for a new bracelet if it has more adjustment points or a micro adjustment clasp like the seamaster. I put the micro adjustment clasp on it and it’s perfection.

 

Because they re-released the 321, which is even closer to original.

At least this is my theory, this is part of a bigger plan: right now there is the so-called "original" 1861 (which sells well, but is probably not expensive enough for Omega and the whole "original" thing means they cannot modernize it because people would cry wolf, so they are kinda stuck against competitors), then the '57 range which is kind of heritage but is actually complete non-sense and does not sell well because people attracted by heritage would actually buy a 1861 hesalite instead of this, then the 44.25 range for the larger/techy models in ceramic which is kind of the R&D range.

My 2 cents of what I feel is going to happen:
- 1861 goes away. New 3861 speedy is priced similar to all other co-axial models. This gives Omega a new "modern" watch and is the corner stone of the range. They will have the freedom to make it evolve within reasonable limits.
- '57 range goes away
- FOIS goes away
- "heritage" model is the new 321
- 44.25mm models stay

So in the end, you will either buy a 3861 speedy, or be tempted by the 321 is you really want "heritage" calibre. And if you want something bigger and more techy, you will get a DSOTM. Plus a few limited editions of course, all with 3861.

 

In other words, whilst technically speaking the 1861 is replaced by the 3861, if you think about it the "heritage" position of the 1861 in the range will be taken by the 321. This was the only way out for Omega, they could not modernize the hesalite 1861 any further because it was meant to be a copy of the original and had been so for decades - the only solution for them to allow modernization was to bring something that was even closer to original, which is most likely why they rebooted the 321 manufacturing.

 

But then the purists buy second hand 1861s like the have for 20 years or so and Omega doesn’t get any money.
The whole reason they rehashed the 321 was to cash in on the 20k they were missing out on with vintage watches being privately sold.
Omega won’t want to create another vacuum in watch movements that they have stopped producing.

 

The key reason to re-release the 1861 is to drive up base model price, as whiteibex says (imho).
Omega is stuck to have their best seller in the ~5k USD range and frankly it has not a lot of competition at this price tag, no?

On the link to heritage: the general buyer will not care if the new 3861 is technically further away as the 1861 was from the 861.
Mentally, show an imaginary average customer the new 'standard' 3861 speedy next to a photo of the model from '69 - only enthusiasts like us will notice differences, for the average buyer the watch will look the same and hence connect extremely well to the heritage. In fact, it might looks-wise even move closer to the older models (think bracelet, DON, maybe step dial).

Need to explain the ~1.5-2k difference in price to the 1861? Oh no problem: METAS movement, ceramic bezel, NAIAD case back, more premium bracelet...

Afraid that they walk away and buy a competitor brand? Well - which one is the question. Rolex? Unobtainable and similar price. Tag Heuer? Not playing the heritage card and different looks. IWC Portugieser? Very different design and more expensive still.

Just my 2 cents.

 

They have to iron out the issues with the 3861 before they do anything....

 

Which are those issues?

 

Parts rubbing that shouldn’t

https://omegaforums.net/threads/3861-initial-thoughts.98944/

 

There was also another thread:

https://omegaforums.net/threads/3861-movement-broken.120071/page-2#post-1608955

 

Thanks, STANDY and YY77

 

Keep in mind that it's "normal" for movements from any watch company to require tweaks over time. Omega is particularly diligent in this regard, because they are still updating movements that haven't been made in decades. For example in 2016 they updated the design of the reversing wheel and ratchet wheel driving wheel in the Cal. 1010 series of movements. This was done to improve winding efficiency on a movement they haven't made for 30+ years...

I have no doubts that the 3861 will get more updates as time goes on.

 

I must say that updating parts on a movement that hasn’t been made in 30+ years is impressive. Well done, Omega. And who would know more about this than Archer? Equally impressive.

 

The inside front cover of today’s New York Times Magazine. Not a cheap media buy...

Cheers,
-GW

 

Has anyone herd any updates on a new speedmaster?

 

https://omegaforums.net/threads/is-this-the-new-speedmaster.123335/page-11#post-1658967

 

Would anyone be able to help? I am trying to find some information on this watch

How much is it worth?

 

Google “skeleton Speedmaster”