Quote:
Originally Posted by sambb
is there a particular reason to desire the 1861 over the 3861?
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For me, yes:
- hate the clasp on the 3861
- too much bracelet taper on the 3861
- prefer the matte black of the 1861
- 1861 dial overall seems slightly less cluttered to my eye
- 1861 caseback indicates the watch was tested and approved by NASA (by extension from the 861). The 3861 has some subtle variation to suggest NASA has not independently tested it. Small detail, but for a space/nasa fan it made a difference for me
- 1861 movement has 50 years of proven capability as a workhorse without issues (given its basically identical to the 861). It carries more heritage back to the speedmasters used in the 60s/70s and into the 90s shuttle program. I do not care about gaining an extra second or two of accuracy with the new one, as the 1861 did everything perfectly well for such a long time, and the 3861 is so different that the movement doesn’t bare much resemblance to the heritage. The 321 movement is obviously the holy grail movement here, but to me there are also limitations to the Ed White Speedmaster - if only it had twisted lugs and a metal bezel lol.
The above are subtle, subjective, and obviously there is no wrong choice when it comes to a Speedmaster of any kind. Just personal preference.