Omega Caliber 8801

The Omega calibre 8801 is an in-house automatic movement that was released at Baselworld in March 2018. It is Swiss made with 35 jewels. This movement features an anti-magnetic hairspring and a Co-Axial escapement.

Interestingly, Omega has two versions of the image of this caliber on their site. On the right is the one currently being used, the left is presumably and old image. It’s interesting to see the edits they made such as darkening the drop shadow, darkening the contrast on the Geneva stripes, making some of the text clearer to read, adding more definition to the screws and jewels, etc. Nice update, Omega graphic designer!

In Omega’s own words:

“Self-winding movement with Co-Axial escapement. Certified Master Chronometer, approved by METAS, resistant to magnetic fields reaching 15,000 gauss. Free sprung-balance with silicon balance spring, automatic winding in both directions. 18K Sedna™ gold balance bridge and oscillating weight with Geneva waves in arabesque.” –source

8801 VS 8800:

The Omega calibre 8801 is based on the 8800. The main difference between the two movements is that the 8801 is found in precious metals models and features 18K gold parts (vs Rhodium plated brass?) as mentioned in the quote above: the rotor and balance bridge.

Replacement Prices:

The Omega caliber 8801 is an in-house movement and not available for individual purchase, even for Swatch Group parts accounts. At the time of this post, this movement is found in gold Omega watches with retail prices up to $81,800.00 USD.

Additional Resources:

• Omega Planet Ocean 600M 39.5mm specs (pdf)
• More Omega watch calibers

Image credit: Omega SA – if you have better pics of the movement in your watch, please submit them here.