RARE COLLECTION - OMEGA CHRONOGRAPH OMEGA 17 JEWELS MANUAL WINDING CAL.321 SERIAL NO. 32834987 CIRCA 1955, THE SAME HANDS AND THE SAME HIGH GRADE MOVEMENT USED IN OMEGA SPEEDMASTER PREMOON MODEL CK2915
The stainless steel case shows no wear, and it actually still retains the factory finish. It has not been cleaned up In the case just shy of 34mm diameter without winding crown push button, waterproof back type, plastic crystal, dial is original and has a great omega emblem raised to indicate higher grade.
The stainless steel case shows no wear, and it actually still retains the factory finish. It has not been "spiffed" or cleaned up in anyway. The case measures just shy of 34mm in diameter without the winding crown or push buttons. Waterproof snap-back type case back. The plastic crystal is excellent. The dial is 100% original and has a great patina.
The Omega emblem is raised to indicate a higher grade of watch. The Omega movement is Caliber 321 , 17 jewels chronograph. This movement is in excellent running order and the chronograph functions work perfectly. It is copper/rose finished. It has a fully compensated balance wheel. The movement Serial Number is 15147493
WILL KEEP IT AS MY PERSONAL COLLECTION BECAUSE OF DIFFICULTY TO FIND AND RARITY OF THIS WATCH BUT I'M WILLING TO PART WITH IT FOR RM18,500 AND NON NEGOTIABLE
THE MAGNIFICENT OF OMEGA CAL. 321
I had the pleasure of getting a look under the hood of Omega’s vintage chronograph calibre 321 which I just required time this week and was duly impressed. Predecessor to the now classic calibre 861, which earned its place in the history books as the movement which ran in the famed “First Watch Worn on the Moon”, I hadn’t heard much of it before. More than likely due to its age and the simple fact of it being lost in the shadow of its younger brother.
Unlike the 861 however, the 321 is the finest specimen of movement I have seen from this manufacture. Which came as quite a surprise to me. The 321 is a column wheel operated chronograph and boasts a Breguet overcoil, with guards fitted to the regulating pins to keep the hairspring from jumping out from between them should the watch be subjected to a strong shock. The 861 on, on the other hand, is more economically made, using a more easily mass produced cam to operate the chronograph, and doing away with the overcoil and guards. Even more unfortunate, is how much further removed the 321 is in quailty of crafstmanship from Omega’s calibre 1861, which replaced the 861.
Most noticeable is the substitution of rhodium plating in place of the rose gold plating that is employed on the 861 and 321. That, though, is of little consequence. In fact, I could say it is one point in favour of the 1861, as rhodium is more durable than gold. The value of either depends on one’s perspective. Both have their merits. The point, though, is moot when held against the quality of steel used in the 321 and 861. More correctly, it is the quality of finish of the steel, particularly at the pivots, where the older calibres outpace the new. The pivots in the 321 are so carefully burnished that they still hold such a silky, deep lustre, that they hardly look a day old once cleaned. I cannot say as much for Omega’s more recent chronographs.
