The biggest watch news of the year could not have come any earlier than this. More than 50 years since its days of cosmic adventures which followed by retiring its original production, Omega has announced that their iconic Calibre 321 has finally returned.
The movement was part of Omega’s signature Seamaster line since the 1940s and gained more popularity when introduced into the newly created Speedmaster in 1957. But of course, it was mostly known for being part of the space exploration missions by NASA. It was present during the first American spacewalk with astronaut Ed White and worn by Buzz Aldrin on the Apollo 11 mission, becoming the first watch that walked the moon.
A project two years in the making, a selected team consists of researchers, developers and historians, as well as the finest craftsmen and experienced watchmakers, to bring the movement back to life. The team compiled extensive historical research and original plans to reconstruct the movement as accurately as possible. Going even further, they also used “tomography” technology (digital scanning method) to see inside the true Speedmaster ST 105.003 timepiece that astronaut Eugene “Gene” Cernan wore on the moon during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972 – the very last lunar mission.
The new movements will now go into production at Omega’s HQ site in Bienne. Uniquely, all aspects of creation will be undertaken within a dedicated Calibre 321 workshop. This means for each movement, the assembly, as well as the watch head and bracelet assembly will be performed by the same watchmaker.
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