Model guide
Vintage Omega Speedmaster: 321 or 861, and which reference
The Speedmaster started in 1957 as a racing chronograph and became the watch NASA flew to the Moon. From the 1970s the name also went on automatics, an electronic watch and a digital quartz. The first question for any vintage Speedmaster is which movement is inside, because that decides most of the price.
Find one on eBay
Live listings and real sold prices, searched by reference and calibre so they match this page.
The five photos to ask a seller forAffiliate links: Watch Breaker may earn a small commission. Opens in a new tab.
What a vintage Speedmaster is
Omega launched the Speedmaster in 1957, alongside the Seamaster 300 and the Railmaster, as a chronograph with the tachymeter scale on the bezel. NASA qualified it for spaceflight in 1965, "Professional" appeared on the dial in the mid-1960s, and in 1969 it went to the Moon on Apollo 11. Through the 1970s the name spread well beyond that watch, so a vintage Speedmaster can be a manual-wind Professional, an automatic Mark, a tuning-fork Speedsonic or an LCD quartz. Its 1969 sister for pilots, the Flightmaster, runs on a movement from the same family. The other vintage Omega models have their own guides.
321 or 861: the calibre decides it
The calibre number is on the movement, with the caseback off. The specifications below are from Omega's GF 620-4 spare-parts catalogue and the Omega Technical Guides.
| Calibre | Years | What it is | Size | How you know it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 321 | 1957–1968 | Manual-wind column-wheel chronograph | 27.0 mm · 6.74 mm high · 18,000 A/h | A column wheel, the small toothed turret the chronograph levers ride on, is visible on the movement. Every Speedmaster before the 145.012 has one. |
| 861 | 1968 on | Manual-wind cam chronograph | 27.0 mm · 6.87 mm high · 21,600 A/h | No column wheel, and it beats faster. It ran in the Professional until the 1861 replaced it in the 1990s. |
| 863 | 1970s–1980s | The 861, decorated to be seen | Same as the 861 | Rhodium-finished and fitted under a display back. |
| 1040 · 1041 · 1045 | 1971 on | Automatic chronographs | A rotor on the back of the movement. The 1040 is in the Mark III and IV, the 1041 in the 125 chronometer, the 1045 in the later Mark IV and other 1970s automatics. | |
| 1255 | 1970s | Tuning-fork chronograph | The Speedsonic. It hums rather than ticks, and it runs on a battery. | |
| 1620 | late 1970s | Digital quartz | An LCD display, no hands. |
The 321 in full, from its specifications to the 2019 reissue: calibre 321 guide.
The 861 parts people hunt, and which donor movements share them: 861 parts list. The Chronostop's 865 shares 63 of them: 865 parts list.
Dimensions and beat rates for the 321 and 861: GF 620-4 (321 folios 1–7) and the Omega Technical Guide. Calibre-by-reference for the others: Omega's vintage database.
References, 1957 to 1980
The reference is inside the caseback. Omega's own database writes the later ones with four digits after the dot, so a 145.022 appears there as 145.0022; the reference lookup reads both. The prefix gives the metal: ST is steel, MD is gold-plated, BA is 18k gold.
| Reference | What it is | Calibre | From | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CK 2915 | The first Speedmaster: steel bezel, broad-arrow hands | 321 | 1957 | Published |
| CK 2998 | Black bezel; the second generation | 321 | 1959 | Published |
| 105.002 · 105.003 | Straight lugs, no crown guards; the 105.003 is the watch NASA qualified | 321 | early 1960s | Published |
| 105.012 | Crown guards and "Professional" on the dial; worn on Apollo 11 | 321 | mid-1960s | Published |
| 145.012 | The changeover reference | 321, then 861 | 1967 | Published |
| 145.022 · BA 145.0022 | The Professional of the 1970s; BA is the 18k "De Luxe" | 861 | 1969 | Omega data |
| ST 145.0022-1 | Apollo-Soyuz | 861 | 1975 | Omega data |
| ST 145.0014 · 145.0037 · MD 145.0034 | Mark II, the barrel case | 861 | 1969 | Omega data |
| ST 176.0002 | Mark III, automatic | 1040 | 1971 | Omega data |
| ST 176.0009 | Mark IV | 1040 | 1973 | Omega data |
| ST 176.0012 | Mark IV, often called the Mark 4.5 | 1045 | 1974 | Omega data |
| ST 378.0801 | Speedmaster 125, chronometer | 1041 | 1973 | Omega data |
| ST 176.0016 · 376.0804 · 376.0805 | 1970s automatic chronographs | 1045 | 1974 | Omega data |
| ST 188.0001 · 188.0002 · 388.0800 | Speedsonic | 1255 | 1974 | Omega data |
| ST 186.0010 · 386.0805 | Digital quartz | 1620 | 1977 | Omega data |
| ST 345.0808 · BA 345.0802 | The Moonwatch in its 1980s case; the BA is 18k | 863 / 861 L | 1980 | Omega data |
"Omega data" rows are from Omega's vintage database as held in the reference lookup. "Published" rows are the widely documented early references, community-graded. A pairing not on this list is not wrong. Send it and I'll check it.
Is your Speedmaster all original?
The reference, the calibre and the dial have to agree. Six photos and the weight, and I check them against Omega's own records and put it in writing. Nothing to pay until I confirm the photos can answer it.
Dating one
The serial is engraved on the movement; the serial number lookup gives the year band. Many Professional casebacks add a year code after the reference, so 145.022-69 is a case made in 1969 and 145.022-74 one made in 1974. The case year and the movement year should sit close together. When they are years apart, the movement or the caseback has been changed.
What it's worth
The calibre is the biggest swing. An honest 1970s 145.022 sells for several thousand dollars. The 321 references sell for multiples of that, and the 1957 CK 2915 is a six-figure watch at auction. The Mark series, the automatics, the 125 and the Speedsonic sell for less than the Professional. Within any reference the price is set by originality: the dial, hands and bezel it left the factory with are worth far more than correct Omega replacements. The "What they sold for" links above show real prices, not asking prices. What's my Omega worth? covers parts and gold value too.
What goes wrong with them
Service parts. Omega replaced dials, hands and bezels at service for decades. They are genuine parts, but a service dial with lume that doesn't match the hands, or a later bezel on an early case, takes the watch down to a user's price. On the 145.022, the early bezel with the dot over the 90 is worth more than the later one. Movement swaps. An 861 in a reference built for a 321 is the expensive one to miss; check the calibre against the table above. Married cases. A case, caseback and dial from different references are common on the Professional because the parts interchange. The reference inside the back, the calibre and the serial have to agree.
Buying one without getting burned
Most vintage Speedmasters change hands on eBay, and eBay is the one place you can see what they actually sold for. Before you pay, ask for these five photos:
- The dial, square on and in daylight. The lume on the dial and hands should match in colour and age.
- The bezel, close up at the 90. Dot over the 90 or beside it tells you which bezel it has.
- The inside of the caseback. The reference and any year code, such as 145.022-69.
- The movement, with the calibre number readable. Look for the column wheel on anything sold as a 321.
- The movement serial. It should date within a year or two of the case.
The value question for a Speedmaster is whether the movement, the case, the dial and the bezel started life together. Six photographs and the weight, and I put it in writing: calibre confirmed against its factory sheet, case checked against Omega's own case data, serial dated, dial judged, three honest values. Within a day. US$75, and nothing to pay until I confirm the photos can answer it.
Questions people ask
Does my Speedmaster have a 321 or an 861?
Take the caseback off and look at the chronograph works. The 321 has a column wheel, a small toothed turret that the levers ride on; the 861 has none and runs faster, at 21,600 beats an hour against the 321's 18,000. The reference tells you too: every Speedmaster before the 145.012 is a 321, and the 145.022 and later Professionals are 861s.
What year is my Omega Speedmaster?
The serial engraved on the movement dates it; run it through the serial number lookup. Many Professional casebacks also carry a year code after the reference, such as 145.022-69 or 145.022-74, which is the year the case was made.
Is my Speedmaster a Moonwatch?
The watches NASA flew are the manual-wind Professional line: the 105.003, the 105.012, the 145.012 and then the 145.022. The Mark series, the automatics, the 125 and the Speedsonic carry the Speedmaster name but are not the Moonwatch.
How much is a vintage Omega Speedmaster worth?
An honest 1970s 145.022 sells for several thousand US dollars. The 321 references sell for multiples of that, and the 1957 CK 2915 is a six-figure watch at auction. The Mark series, automatics and Speedsonic sell for less than the Professional. Replaced service dials, hands and bezels cut the collector value.
Watch Breaker is an independent identification specialist and parts dealer and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Omega SA or the Swatch Group. Omega is a trademark of Omega SA. Specifications are transcribed from printed catalogues and technical guides; reference pairings are community-graded unless stated. Terms.