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Omega 321 Speedmaster: My Thoughts After Trying It On

moonwatch omega speedmaster
ninman
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So I got the opportunity to try a 321 Speedmaster, and buy it, in Edinburgh today.

Here's some pics, and then my thoughts.

20260530_114626.webp 20260530_114610.webp 20260530_114546.webp 20260530_114646.webp

As a watch, it is fantastic. The dial is a deep matt black and incredibly clear. The case is excellent and it feels like a lovely watch.

However, here's the kicker. I own the FOIS 2024 edition, so I could compare them directly.

In terms of cases, size wise and quality wise, they are identical. The feel of the bracelet and the way the watches feel on the wrist, also identical.

The only significant differences are the dial and movement.

So as much as I like it, in my opinion it's not worth double the FOIS. I think if it was 1 or even 2 thousand more than the FOIS that would be a justifiable premium, but not double.

The FOIS really scratches that vintage Speedmaster itch without the vintage price tag.

Those are my thoughts, let me know what you think.
 
Evitzee
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I think it's just one man's opinion. If the FOIS is a suitable substitute for an EW321 for you, great. Personally, I don't think it is, but that's just my opinion. There is no right or wrong answer here.
 
kelsey
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ninman ninman
The FOIS really scratches that vintage Speedmaster itch without the vintage price tag.

Those are my thoughts, let me know what you think.
Agree, I own the earlier FOIS numbered edition, and that’s the main reason I didn’t go the 321. Personally I’m not a huge fan of metal bands, leathers ok here (country Qld Australia) in winter but mostly wear my FOIS on nato.
 
dsio
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Thon is a beautiful watch ye scorit mate, nice tae see people able tae walk i an juist buy ane without the waitin list.

A dae agree thouch thon it micht no have the same impact as the fois visually, it really is juist a huge tax for the 321 movement but gin ye're able tae keep both, thon's a hell o a pair.

(translated from Australian)
 
Kronos
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I had a chance to view a 321 recently too and had similar thoughts to you @ninman. Cannot deny its a beautiful watch and knowing that each watch is hand-assembled by a single watchmaker is a key element to it's premium price for sure...

Personally i couldn't justify the spend on it compared to other speedmasters I'd want on my wish list
 
YY77
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Kronos Kronos
I had a chance to view a 321 recently too and had similar thoughts to you @ninman. Cannot deny its a beautiful watch and knowing that each watch is hand-assembled by a single watchmaker is a key element to it's premium price for sure...

Personally i couldn't justify the spend on it compared to other speedmasters I'd want on my wish list
On a local watchforum a '20 321 was FS at the start of '26 for € 12k (RRP was 13,3k) so no premium but didn't get sold so was traded in by OP, that seemed to be a good deal compared to current RRP.
 
ninman
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Kronos Kronos
I had a chance to view a 321 recently too and had similar thoughts to you @ninman. Cannot deny its a beautiful watch and knowing that each watch is hand-assembled by a single watchmaker is a key element to it's premium price for sure...

Personally i couldn't justify the spend on it compared to other speedmasters I'd want on my wish list
Yeah, but the whole "hand assembled by a single watchmaker" thing is just Omega trying to artificially inflate the price and make the 321 movement appear to be more than it was and is.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great movement, but as far as I'm aware, after reading posts from actual experts on this, e.g. Archer, it's pretty simple and straightforward, as a movement. It's not haut-horology, it's just a good, solid, chronograph movement, that doesn't really require any special skills to make, assemble or service beyond what any competent watchmaker would have.

So, it feels a bit artificial from Omega.

I mean, I really appreciate the movement, and its legendary status as the watch movement that went to the moon, and I think it's fair for Omega to charge a premium for bringing it back into production after all these years. However, they didn't have to go as far as having a single watchmaker doing it and charging double what they charge for the FOIS.

If the watch was say £9k to £10k, I think that would be a reasonable price. £14.5k, when you can get a watch that's basically identical, quality-wise for £7.4k seems a bit excessive to me.
 
bsowers34
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ninman ninman
So I got the opportunity to try a 321 Speedmaster, and buy it, in Edinburgh today.

Here's some pics, and then my thoughts.

20260530_114626.webp 20260530_114610.webp 20260530_114546.webp 20260530_114646.webp

As a watch, it is fantastic. The dial is a deep matt black and incredibly clear. The case is excellent and it feels like a lovely watch.

However, here's the kicker. I own the FOIS 2024 edition, so I could compare them directly.

In terms of cases, size wise and quality wise, they are identical. The feel of the bracelet and the way the watches feel on the wrist, also identical.

The only significant differences are the dial and movement.

So as much as I like it, in my opinion it's not worth double the FOIS. I think if it was 1 or even 2 thousand more than the FOIS that would be a justifiable premium, but not double.

The FOIS really scratches that vintage Speedmaster itch without the vintage price tag.

Those are my thoughts, let me know what you think.
I have not seen one in the metal, but I tend to agree with you on this. Especially since I own four 3861s.
Edited:
 
padders
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I think it human nature that those that have shelled out the big bucks for 321 will justify it to the hilt, and those that own a FOIS will tell themselves that the 321 isn't worth double. A non watch geek casual observer would struggle to tell them apart at first glance after all. It is hard to form an objective opinion here since neither piece really justifies its price, these are after all Veblen goods so logic goes out of the window.

One area where the 321 is certainly better than the FOIS is in hand legibility. Though the same could be said of the std Pro model too.

I'd love a 321 to go with my FOIS2 but I'll just have to content myself with my all original 105.003-65 which eases the pain somewhat! ::stirthepot::
Edited:
 
Kronos
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ninman ninman
Yeah, but the whole "hand assembled by a single watchmaker" thing is just Omega trying to artificially inflate the price and make the 321 movement appear to be more than it was and is.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great movement, but as far as I'm aware, after reading posts from actual experts on this, e.g. Archer, it's pretty simple and straightforward, as a movement. It's not haut-horology, it's just a good, solid, chronograph movement, that doesn't really require any special skills to make, assemble or service beyond what any competent watchmaker would have.

So, it feels a bit artificial from Omega.

I mean, I really appreciate the movement, and its legendary status as the watch movement that went to the moon, and I think it's fair for Omega to charge a premium for bringing it back into production after all these years. However, they didn't have to go as far as having a single watchmaker doing it and charging double what they charge for the FOIS.

If the watch was say £9k to £10k, I think that would be a reasonable price. £14.5k, when you can get a watch that's basically identical, quality-wise for £7.4k seems a bit excessive to me.
100% agree- The price is the showstopper.
 
Mute
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The only thing keeping me from the FOIS is the patina coloring of the hands and indices. If they had stuck with plain white, I may well add one to my collection.
 
bsowers34
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Mute Mute
The only thing keeping me from the FOIS is the patina coloring of the hands and indices. If they had stuck with plain white, I may well add one to my collection.
It's a gorgeous watch, and very true to the original ck2998, except for the subdial hands.
 
Mute
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bsowers34 bsowers34
It's a gorgeous watch, and very true to the original ck2998, except for the subdial hands.
I do agree that it's a very nice watch overall. The proportions and bracelet feels just right to me.
 
padders
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Mute Mute
The only thing keeping me from the FOIS is the patina coloring of the hands and indices. If they had stuck with plain white, I may well add one to my collection.
In that case buy the first version, that had no fauxtina. I’ve had both versions and prefer the second but YMMV.
 
F
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I agree, 321 was my grail for quite a while and then they released the FOIS “2”. Tried it on at the boutique and had to pick it up. Have a friend that let me borrow his 321 for a week to compare as I still had the itch but ultimately couldn’t justify the price increase to pull the trigger personally. I have an 1861 Hesalite so appreciated the dial of the FOIS and felt like there was less overlap with with what I already had
 
ninman
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Mute Mute
The only thing keeping me from the FOIS is the patina coloring of the hands and indices. If they had stuck with plain white, I may well add one to my collection.
Yeah, I just view it as a colour choice, and I think the orange hour markers match the kind of charcoal-blue dial. I agree that making matt-black with white hour markers would have been better, but they probably needed to distinguish it from the 321 and Moonwatch.
 
dapellegrini
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Despite all the recent hate on Omega, I think they have been putting out some real stunners in the Speedmaster line. The newer FOiS a great example. A beautiful watch, and great option for any Speedmaster enthusiast. As others have said - the fauxtina is maybe a little too aggressive, but perhaps if I already owned a Gen1 FOiS, I would find the Gen2 different enough to pick up as well.

IMO the 321 is in a different league - and flies under the radar. A true "if you know you know" watch - and I am glad Omega gave us a version in stainless steel, that while expensive, is much more attainable than a PM version. I don't look at it as an expensive FOiS, I see it as a budget version of the Platinum 321.
 
pdxleaf
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Kronos Kronos
Cannot deny its a beautiful watch and knowing that each watch is hand-assembled by a single watchmaker is a key element to it's premium price for sure...

This is pure marketing. As soon as we get our 861 or 1861 or 3861 movements serviced for the first time they will be hand-assembled by a single watchmaker.
 
Evitzee
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The EW321 is a halo product, it is not meant for the customer who is price conscious and who sees the FOIS as an 'almost as good' watch for about half the price. It's one of those "you either get it or you don't" type products. The world of luxury has lots of these type of products.
 
chiefenergy
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ninman ninman
So I got the opportunity to try a 321 Speedmaster, and buy it, in Edinburgh today.

Here's some pics, and then my thoughts.

20260530_114626.webp 20260530_114610.webp 20260530_114546.webp 20260530_114646.webp

As a watch, it is fantastic. The dial is a deep matt black and incredibly clear. The case is excellent and it feels like a lovely watch.

However, here's the kicker. I own the FOIS 2024 edition, so I could compare them directly.

In terms of cases, size wise and quality wise, they are identical. The feel of the bracelet and the way the watches feel on the wrist, also identical.

The only significant differences are the dial and movement.

So as much as I like it, in my opinion it's not worth double the FOIS. I think if it was 1 or even 2 thousand more than the FOIS that would be a justifiable premium, but not double.

The FOIS really scratches that vintage Speedmaster itch without the vintage price tag.

Those are my thoughts, let me know what you think.
Glad to hear you had the opportunity to compare and left satisfied; congrats!
 
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