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Breaking News: The New Steel Speedmaster With Caliber 321 “Ed White”

cholack
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Archer Archer
Just to expand a bit on the "complexity" discussion with cam and column wheel movements, I have two videos to illustrate the differences. In this first video I took a couple of years ago, I have all the parts mounted to this 321 in order for the column wheel switching to work:


So looking at the parts we have the following:

1 - Pillar wheel (column wheel)
2 - Pillar wheel screw
3 - Operating lever
4 - Operating lever screw
5 - Operating lever hook
6 - Pillar wheel jumper (spring)
7 - Pillar wheel jumper screw
8 - Operating lever spring
9 - Two screw for the operating lever spring

Here is a similar video showing an 1861, again with the minimum parts installed to allow the cam system to function the same as the column wheel does in the video above:


Lets look at the parts required here:

1 - Lower cam
2 - Upper cam
3 - Screw for cam
4 - Cam jumper (spring)
5 - Operating lever
6 - Two operating lever screws
7 - Connecting lever
8 - Operating lever spring
9 - Operating lever yoke
10 - Screw for operating lever yoke

So just on a pure parts count basis, there are actually more parts in this system for the 1861 (11) than there are for the 321 (10). And this doesn't include the screw that holds the cam jumper (spring) in place, because another spring for the hammer goes on top of that before you install the screw, so technically, it's 12 parts for the cam system.

Just some perspective on how these two systems really compare to each other. People often say that Omega changed from the cam to the column wheel to cut costs, but having serviced a lot of each and seen the wear/damage that happens on the column wheel 321's, I would argue they made these changes as much for reliability as for cost savings.

Cheers, Al
Thanks Al. Always great to get your perspective
 
B
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I've got what appears to be a black sheep 50th anniversary with the 3201 movement (vertical clutch, column wheel, coaxial). I realize it's not considered an in-house Omega movement like the 321, but it appears to tick all of the boxes from an objective standpoint while being thinner, having more water resistance and a chronometer. Perhaps it's not as robust as the 1861 or 321? How does it stack up against these movements? What's the reason Omega had such a short run on them?
 
Riviera Paradise
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I think this new 39mm Carrera re-issue offering from Tag Heuer with an in-house column wheel/vertical clutch 80 hour power reserve moment, at US$6.5K is a better vintage chronograph re-issue proposition.😗
TAG-Heuer-Carrera-160-Years-Silver-1.jpeg

Photo from ABTW

Sorry....I just can't help feeling that Omega is ripping off some of my dear friends here on the OF with this SS 321 at US$14K....similar to when you see a good friend falling passionately🥰 for someone that you know will be trouble and high maintenance. 😒
 
Hamish02
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Interesting that Omega have listed it in the same variations section as the CK2998 and the FOIS - at least they have the same shape case and the same movement. The only thing they all seem to share is the 39.7mm width.
 
C
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Riviera Paradise Riviera Paradise
I think this new 39mm Carrera re-issue offering from Tag Heuer with an in-house column wheel/vertical clutch 80 hour power reserve moment, at US$6.5K is a better vintage chronograph re-issue proposition.😗
TAG-Heuer-Carrera-160-Years-Silver-1.jpeg

Photo from ABTW

Sorry....I just can't help feeling that Omega is ripping off some of my dear friends here on the OF with this SS 321 at US$14K....similar to when you see a good friend falling passionately🥰 for someone that you know will be trouble and high maintenance. 😒
The new Speedmaster “Ed White” is not a Rolex Daytona or a Tag Heuer Carrera re-issue. They each have their own unique characteristics that appeal differently to different individuals. I believe caution should be exercised when attempting to project your own feelings and values upon others.
 
B
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Riviera Paradise Riviera Paradise
I think this new 39mm Carrera re-issue offering from Tag Heuer with an in-house column wheel/vertical clutch 80 hour power reserve moment, at US$6.5K is a better vintage chronograph re-issue proposition.😗
TAG-Heuer-Carrera-160-Years-Silver-1.jpeg

Photo from ABTW

Sorry....I just can't help feeling that Omega is ripping off some of my dear friends here on the OF with this SS 321 at US$14K....similar to when you see a good friend falling passionately🥰 for someone that you know will be trouble and high maintenance. 😒


That Heuer is a handsome watch, it'd be a toss up between it and the Calibre 18 for me, but $6.5k for a Carrera is almost as bad as $14k for a Speedy.
 
M'Bob
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C cfracing
I believe caution should be exercised when attempting to project your own feelings and values upon others.

That's kinda what we do around here, no?
 
Riviera Paradise
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B Burrogs
That Heuer is a handsome watch, it'd be a toss up between it and the Calibre 18 for me, but $6.5k for a Carrera is almost as bad as $14k for a Speedy.

A Calibre 18 has a Sellita SW300 movement. with a Dubois-Depraz 2223 chronograph module added on and 40 hour power reserve.

This new Carrera has an in-house Heuer 02 movement with a column wheel, vertical clutch and 80 hour power reserve.

Paying retail for any Tag Heuer is generally not a good idea, but in this case the price point seems reasonable compared to the competition for a modern chronograph movement. I suspect that other non-LE Carrera Heuer 02s will be released during 2020 and that sometime in the future these will be a good buy in the secondary market.
 
Riviera Paradise
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C cfracing
The new Speedmaster “Ed White” is not a Rolex Daytona or a Tag Heuer Carrera re-issue. They each have their own unique characteristics that appeal differently to different individuals. I believe caution should be exercised when attempting to project your own feelings and values upon others.

I own two Speedy LEs: the Apollo XI 45th and ST#1. I understand the value of the Speedmaster brand and I certainly value it more than a Carrera / Daytona from a branding/heritage perspective. I could not give a toss about which watch Paul Newman wore or owned, for example.

My post was partly in jest. The hubris around the "column wheel" aspect of the 321 and the "one watchmaker" with "elven lore" assembling the movement alone in a wooden shed on a wind swept Swiss mountain, is just a bit too OTT for me and is begging to be called out.

I agree though that we should respect individual passions for any watch...and the 321 Stainless Steel is clearly a "hottie" for some.
 
C
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M'Bob M'Bob
Exercising.
I apologize. I hadn’t seen any threads about what is a good watch to wear for working out. 😀
 
Screwbacks
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incursore61 incursore61
where does this information come from?
tank's
hi. 2020 pcs is a bit of exaggeration to coincide with the new year 2020. 😁 per earlier post, it has been
rumoured to be limited to 2,000 pcs. but, we really do not know how limited is limited for a 321 revival in
a year. 😉
 
cvalue13
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Screwbacks Screwbacks
per earlier post, it has been
rumoured to be limited to 2,000 pcs. but, we really do not know how limited is limited for a 321 revival in
a year. 😉

Local boutique contact said Omega’s still keeping them in the dark on details.

he went on to say there are rumors that Omega may only hit ~1500 created within this first year of release (less than the aspirational 2000/yr); also rumors that few to none of those units may hit U.S. cash registers within the 2020 calendar year. But, he qualified that all by saying no one actually knows anything yet.

So, the only thing for certain seems to be that, whatever the rumors and aspirational talk from Omega may be, at bottom, nothing is certain yet. It’s certainly happened before that a brand has over promised and under delivered in a release...

Hasn’t stopped boutiques from taking full or 1/2 deposits, though.

I’m going to give it another month to see if info gets better, and if not, will likely yank my deposit.
 
tmilnthorp
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AD has told me that he will receive only 1 per year. His Omega rep has indicated that orders for the US market are filled for ~3 years at current production levels!

You may want to think twice about canceling that deposit 😉
 
cvalue13
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tmilnthorp tmilnthorp
You may want to think twice about canceling that deposit 😉

Ouf. Cuts both ways. On one hand, I am by a matter of minutes 2nd in line at one of the largest/most supplied boutiques in the U.S.; on the other hand, I certainly don't have the history of purchases from the boutique that others lower on the list likely will.

So with no resulting promise of delivery at any known point in time, makes it hard to assess how long I want to give Omega a full deposit floater.
 
tmilnthorp
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cvalue13 cvalue13
Ouf. Cuts both ways. On one hand, I am by a matter of minutes 2nd in line at one of the largest/most supplied boutiques in the U.S.; on the other hand, I certainly don't have the history of purchases from the boutique that others lower on the list likely will.

So with no resulting promise of delivery at any known point in time, makes it hard to assess how long I want to give Omega a full deposit floater.

It is interesting... My AD has said Omega is not permitting them to take deposits for these watches because Omega is unsure of how long it will be until they are able to fulfill the orders. Yet the OBs will take a 50%/100% deposit.. That policy seems counter-intuitive as it would just drive people away from OBs.
 
M'Bob
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I think they are really doing this all wrong. Why? Because I had an interest, but hearing stories about deposits and years plus waiting times, the scales have tipped for me, and I've moved on. Can't believe I'm the only one that feels this way. After all - there's exclusive...and out of reach. And this is quickly becoming the latter...
 
Evitzee
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When you don't have a set amount of product that you are selling it will lead to this kind of situation. With real LE's where the edition size is set (like the 6969 pc Apollo 11) you can parcel out the watches in some sort of fashion and when they are sold, they are gone. But when you say you can produce up to 2,000 pcs per year, and it's not a limited edition, it gets to be a free for all as to how the watches will be distributed. Sounds like the AD's and OB's are in the dark, some taking 50% or 100% deposits without knowing when a watch will be delivered. Not a good situation but one that Omega created. Poor roll out, imo, but Omega's plans for the 321 have been fuzzy since it was first announced last year, then with the platinum edition, now with the SS edition. No one knows nothin'.
 
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