Speedmaster calibers 321 vs 861 vs 1861

Archer

Is that Manuel Yazijian? If so, that might explain a lot...

Archer

If you go through Omega, they have to be done at Bienne, and the price is higher than with an 861 or 1861. If you go with an independent, then you will pay whatever they feel it's worth for their time. Might be the same as an 861, or could be more.

With regards to parts, the parts listed above (with the exception of the mainspring) are case parts, and these are not a problem to get - they are all readily available from Omega, and I buy them frequently. To say, based on those parts he listed, that there are no issues getting parts for a Cal. 321 is very misleading. Although many movement parts are available through Omega to anyone with an account, a lot of critical parts are not as Omega chooses to withhold them. So if you need an escape wheel, pallet fork, balance complete, some chronograph springs, various plates or bridges, etc. then you are out of luck. You will have to rely on the open market and hope you can find these parts at a reasonable price, if at all.

Now not every watch needs a part that can't be obtained easily, in fact it's sort of rare that they are needed. However because you have had a 321 repaired, replaced a few case parts, and didn't need anything that was discontinued obviously does not mean every part for the watch is easy to get...

Cheers, Al

Gemini4

321, a 105.012

dsio

NASA bought theirs in batches, not just on the month of the mission, so even the last watch on the moon, Gene Cernan's on Apollo 17 was a 105.012-66CB Cal 321

richardew

Who has had trouble getting parts or service for a c321? I haven't. Omega will service the c321 and it is more expensive and has to be done in Bienne. I get mine done locally and it costs exactly the same to service a c321 as a c861. I haven't had any issues getting parts either: crowns, pushers, crystals, gaskets, mainspring. I wear them regularly. They are all robust movements/watches that have passed the NASA tests. The challenge in collecting/owning c321 speedys is in finding ones that have all or most of the original parts that differ from modern replacements: bezels, hands, dial.
Here's an c864. It's a chronometer version of the c861

Here's some shots of the c321:

Maganator

Yes, I suppose that is what it would be.

I have an 861 in pretty good condition, though the bezel and hands are not correct for the watch. Given that what I have is not original (and I have no desire to search for the correct hands and bezel as I now have an immaculate one from the same period), I was just assessing my options. Sell it on or franken it into something else. It wouldn't be done to deceive anyone or anything. I just loved the raised Omega symbols on the 321 dials.