The original chronograph movement that powered Omega’s early Moonwatches has been out of production for half a century. Now, Omega is bringing it back
By Chris Hall

It’s a small step for a brand, but one giant leap for movementkind.
Sorry – couldn’t resist. As Omega winds up to exert Apollo 11 levels of marketing energy on the 50th anniversary of the moon landings (July 20th 2019 – put it in your diaries), it has announced that it is restarting production of the hand-wound chronograph calibre that was used in the watches of Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins on that historic mission. Indeed, the 321 was the calibre in all Speedmaster Professional Moonwatches used by NASA.
The original Calibre 321
It was first produced long before man left earth’s orbit, and long before the Speedmaster itself made an entrance in 1957. The 321 began production in 1946 and was the result of a collaboration between Omega and Lemania. Also known as Lemania Calibre 2310, it was used by esteemed names including Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin and Breguet. It was used in some early Seamaster chronographs, before being selected as the calibre for all Speedmasters from 1957 to 1965 and all Speedmaster Professionals from 1965 until 1968, when production ceased and it was replaced by the calibre 861.  Key features of the 321 include its use of a column wheel rather than cam for switching chronograph functions, and a lateral clutch. These days mo...