In the history of wristwatches, there are a handful of all-time great models. Arguably, the king of all is the Speedmaster—the watch chosen for spaceflight by NASA and officially certified to do so. The first watch worn on the moon. Nothing else compares.
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There are many thousands of great webpages and social media accounts detailing the Moon Watch’s history, its numerous reference numbers, its tweaks over the years and more. Among them I would recommend Hodinkee’s Reference Points piece and Speedmaster 101. The TL;DR is that the Speedmaster was first released in 1957 (alongside the Railmaster and Seamaster 300), and in 1969 was worn on the moon by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Along the way, one Walter Schirra purchased a Speedmaster for his personal use, wore it in space, and when NASA needed a timepiece for spaceflight, the various watches submitted for consideration (including Longines and Rolex) failed the various tests, except the Speedmaster. Post-Apollo XI, the watch maintained the same look, design and even movement (with one small update in the 90s)—until 2021.
In 2021, Omega updated the Speedmaster to include its unique escapement technology, the co-axial escapement, dubbing the new movement 3861—replacing the 1861, which had a direct lineage to the 321 movement in the original Speedies of 1957-1968. Much hay was made of this, and some collectors are still a little uneasy about the movement change, though by and large it’s accepted, and collectors often go vintage anyway. Jack Forster’s review at Hodinkee is good for a Speedmaster acolyte’s viewpoint.
[Shop the 3861 Speedmaster at Mayors here, in sapphire or in hesalite]
From my point of view at the time: I knew I wanted a Speedmaster, I am a fan of the co-axial escapement technology and Omega’s general posture of innovation, and all the features of the 3861 Moon Watch made it the perfect Speedmaster for me. Eventually in 2023 I was able to buy one (secondhand from a friend), specifically the sapphire crystal model with exhibition case back. Look how beautiful:
I wore it 18 months…and then I traded it in for an older model—the 1861 model that immediately preceded it (and I opted for a hesalite crystal this time).
Why did I make that switch? In the YouTube video below I go into detail about the one specific detail that ended up driving me crazy about the 3861 and resulting in me making the trade. Spoiler: it’s the shape and profile of the lyre lugs.
[Shop new straps for your Speedmaster at Anchor Strap, use code MWM20 for a discount]
In the pinned comment at the top, I summarize my feelings about which is better, 3861 or 1861:
I’m about 6 months in and here is my overall feeling so far (may do an update video in another 6 months): For almost everybody, the 3861 is the absolute best Moon Watch, and that’s the one you should buy if you’re considering a Speedy. It’s better-made than the 1861, has better lume, has a significantly longer power reserve (about 65 hours despite its 50 hour claim), it winds easier, it wears flatter and more compact and more comfortable, its dial is better (step dial), it’s crazy anti-magnetic, the bracelet is outstanding, its water resistance is real, not theoretical (e.g. it’s submerged in water and pressurized to 180ft before you ever buy it out of the case), and it’s more accurate.
Having worn both now for months each, the wearing experience of the 3861 is objectively superior. However, if you watch this video and feel that the lug shape and case differences bother you on the 3861 as much as they bothered me, then do some more shopping and try some models on.
I love this 1861 and because of how much the case shape mattered to me, I get warm fuzzies when I wear it in a way the 3861 did not give me. BUT I very well may mod it with a different dial because I miss the step dial of the 3861 so much (and I definitely plan to put it on an OEM flat link bracelet). Also, there is a fairly decent chance that I will buy the white dial 3861 down the road. It’s so beautiful!
If you don’t feel like watching the video, I’ll summarize my beef with the 3861 case shape and lug profile.
The lyre lug shape is 3-dimensional, with an angled polished bevel that terminates at the tip of the lug. The angle of that bevel, and the shape of the ridge it creates on the top of the lug are both different on the 3861. The ridge on the top of the lug is the specific thing that has bothered me—on the 3861, it is basically a straight line coming out of the round part of the case straight to the tip of the lug; sometimes it even looks like it curves outward, like a parentheses ( ). My problem is that on most other Omega lyre-lug cases, that ridge has just a tiny bit of shapely curve to it, bending slightly inward before reaching the tip of the lug. The 3861 also has shorter lugs by about .5mm, so the overall effect is to make it look more round and squat.
To make it crystal clear:
So that’s my beef.
I stick by my general assessment: the 3861 is the objectively better watch that you should buy. It wears better on the wrist and is a noticeably nicer watch—it earns its price through improved fit and finish, and movement tech improvements.
But if you just so happen to have the same specific affinity for the shape of the lyre lugs that I do: shop the 1861 model on eBay here.
