After a Moonwatch

The closest of the new models is the metal back with hesalite crystal. The movement is an upgrade done in 1968 but based on the original 321 movement. Hesalite was used by NASA as it would not shatter like sapphire can. Other then that just some minor font differences on the dial and bezel.

It's one of these 2 depending on strap option.

Omega didn't call them moonwatches until the 861 cameout.

This bothers you I bet. Moonwatch is just an imprecise term with poor specificity and variable meaning. This is why we use the model numbers when we need to drill down which watch we are referencing.

The 861 might have gone to the Moon, there is reason to believe that 1 did, but that does not matter. The 321 was not the only watch worn ON the moon, as a UG nee Bulova was also worn on the moon as well as a Waltham (mixed info on the Waltham being worn outside) Nor is it the only confirmed watch to go to the Moon, as at least 1 Rolex model went to the moon also with the aforementioned watches. The 861 speedy is still the only watch certified to be worn outside spacesuits by NASA.

Here is where the problem lies, even Omega states that "Pre-Moon" Speedmasters went to the moon. The problem is that "Moonwatch" is a term that Omega coined for the Speedmaster Professional AFTER the watches went to the Moon and has become a generic catch all with various meanings. In some cases it refers to all Speedmasters with a 321/861 movement, to some only the 145.012. It gets weirder as Omega's definition which was only the 145.022 and beyond Professionals, now includes almost all of the Speedmasters including the CK2998 which is based on a pre-moon Speedmaster and the 9300 based watches.

It's a term with variable meaning much like the term "Muscle Car" Most people put the Mustang and Camaro in the Muscle car category while technically they are not Muscle cars. Muscle cars are Mid sized and large cars with big engines, while the Mustang, Camaro, and Challenger are technically Pony cars. Pony cars are based on small car platforms, hence the Challenger is one and the Charger is not. Some people put the Pony Cars as a subset of Muscle cars, other people think they are different groups.

In the car world we also get around it by using hard fixed terms, IE when talking about 911's you generally use the chassis code, 901/964/993/996 etc. The use of 911 or 911 Turbo is imprecise and has a wide and poorly understood meaning and could apply to a range of cars over made 54 years. Technically the 1976-1988 911 Turbo is not a 911... its a 930... but yet almost everyone calls that car a 911 turbo. Well and the odd fact that 68-88 cars are called 911's when they have the 63-88 chassis code 901 when talking to people in the know but that is another discussion as to why that happens.

E46m here 😉