Gentlemen, the Omega caliber 3330 powering the new series of Speedmaster Racing chronographs has been on the market for months, but I still cant find a single picture of this caliber. How is that possible ? We know the caliber is based on the ETA A08.L01, which is also being used by Longines as caliber L688. In a Longines watch the caliber looks like this...

View attachment 1165813

...the Omega caliber 3330 must look quite different though considering the co-axial escapement which requires a free-sprung balance (the Longines L688 has, as you can see, an index regulated balance). The rotor is probably also different, and the finishing should be better in a Omega watch.

I'd kill for a picture of the Omega caliber 3330. Who will post a picture of it ? Any of you Speedy Racing owners out there ? It would be a world-first picture :-!

Regards
Undersköterskan

I'd presume the finish would be less fancy because you will never see it. The Racing's caseback is solid. No point in making the movement pretty if you'll never see it.

 

That's hardly the case. We can expect the movement to be nicely decorated in any modern Omega no matter if the watch has a see-through caseback or one in solid stainless steel. The caliber 3330 will definately be very nicely decorated. Still, I find it amazing that there's not even a single picture of the movement anywhere to be found.

Regards
Undersköterskan

 

The only difference between those two movements is that the cal. 2500 has Côtes de Geneve on the rotor and the cal. 8500 has Côtes Arabesque ... although I think the gold plated balance wheel is a bit more elegant than the silicon wheel. Both have perlage and gilt lettering.

As for showing off the 3330, doesn't the new 44mm SMP chrono have an exhibition caseback?

 

The 8500 and 9300 also carry the pattern onto the entire face of the movement, not just the rotor. Personally, I love that. Especially since the pattern has a sort of turbine feel to it. Gives it a modern, racy aesthetic. Sporty, aggressive, yet still "fancy." Kind of like an Audi R8.

And are you talking about the Speedmaster Professional when you say SMP? If so, yes... the 9300 is found in that watch and it has an exhibition back. But my question is why doesn't the Racing have an exhibition back? If the movement is so beautiful, why wouldn't Omega want to show it off?

 

The Racing and the new 44 SMP Chrono don't have exhibition casebacks because it's a question of Segmentation & Positioning. Display backs are now reserved for in-house calibers.

Some costumers (maybe the majority) aren't aware of the in-house thing. If you want to sell a more expensive 3 hands PO vs a SMP Chrono (the new one) there must be some visible attributes (besides the caliber itself) so the consumers can understand better the price difference between the two.

 

Does this sound like corporate-speak to anyone else?

Perhaps Omega has moles among us! b-)

 

About the Mole thing....

somehow people are comparing Omega vs Rolex but the two are in completely different stages of brand management lifecycle.

1 - Rolex it's clearly the leader of it's segment
2 - Omega wants a piece of that segment
3 - Omega problem: does not have (yet) the Brand awareness needed to go face-to-face with Rolex
4 - Omega Strategy:
4.1 - Positioning some part of the portfolio in a higher segment (In-house, Liquidmetal, Ceragold, Sedna, >15.000 Gauss with a price to match) even though this it's not enough to fight Rolex it helps to move the brand perception of value (just to mention the recent updates, this strategy begun years ago with co-axial use just for some models)
4.2 - Use the higher brand perception generated by the high-end portfolio to sell cheaper models (to a lower market segment) SMPs, Speedy Pro, Speedy Date, Racing, deVille Prestige...(consumers think these are bargains compared to the average Omega prices at the AD's)
4.3 - Use the money generated by the low-end portfolio to fund the high-end (ie. fund the brand awareness)
4.4 - Continue the cycle: brand awareness helps to sell cheaper models, cheaper models money funding High-End & brand awareness and so on (moving up the average selling price)

Lesson learned from Rolex: Regarding Brand awareness, Distribution it's more important than Product Development (having Omegas mixed with TAGs, Longines, etc, at shop windows "dilutes" the brand image (in special vs Rolex), that's why Omega is moving to brand boutiques and carefully selected AD's (in the targeted segment, consumers want a luxury/exclusive shopping experience, not buying a 6.000$ piece next to the guy buying a Ck watch.

If Omega was ready to face Rolex in the higher segment models like Speedy Date, SMPs and the newers 3330 models wouldn't exist

Threats: Cartier! Omega fears Cartier more than any other brand. Cartier already has a great distribution in place and that's helping the already good brand awareness

 

Good Analysis

 

I'm sorry to resurrect this old thread but... I REALLY am curious what this caliber looks like. Is it still not public knowledge? After an exhaustive search, I still can't find anything.

 

a member posted some photos on another thread..

 

Thank you very much.

 

it looks nice, would love to see more high res photos

 

I REALLY wish this could have had a display caseback. Oh well.
Does it have a vertical clutch?

 

Does it have a vertical clutch?

No.