Omega Speedmaster 38 324.30.38.50.01.002 first impressions
What hits you the moment you pick up the new black no-date 38mm.
The Omega Speedmaster 38 324.30.38.50.01.002 arrived on August 25, 2026, and the first reaction in the office was relief.
The outgoing 38mm always looked like a Speedmaster that had been sent to finishing school: softer indices, a date window punched into the six o'clock subdial, a slightly dressier posture. This one looks like a Moonwatch that shrank.
The dial is dead symmetrical, the tachymeter typography now matches the 42mm, and the whole thing reads as a tool watch instead of a compromise. Among the Omega watches released in the last year, this is the one that most obviously answers a complaint people had been making out loud for nine years.
Pick it up and the density surprises you. This is not a light watch. The steel is full-density 316L, the bracelet has real heft, and the case has a solidity that the photos undersell. The bezel is polished with a black aluminium tachymeter insert, and the "Dot Over Ninety" detail sits exactly where collectors expect it.
Two things jump out negatively on first handling, and they are worth naming immediately: the case is noticeably tall for a 38mm watch, and the polished bezel picks up fingerprints within about ten seconds of leaving the tray.
The short version
Omega released seven new Speedmaster 38 references on August 25, 2026, retiring most of the 2017 generation. Here is what changed on the one reference enthusiasts actually care about.
- Ref. 324.30.38.50.01.002 is the only no-date model in the new lineup, running the Calibre 3332 instead of the date-equipped Calibre 3330.
- The dial loses the date window entirely, restoring a symmetrical three-register layout.
- The tachymeter scale now uses Moonwatch typography, including the "Dot Over Ninety" detail.
- It ships on a five-link Moonwatch-style bracelet with Omega's comfort release clasp.
- US retail is $6,500, roughly $200 above where the outgoing 38mm finished its run.
- The catch: 14.75mm thick, and no METAS Master Chronometer certification.
How the Speedmaster 38 wears on the wrist
How the new no-date actually wears, day in and day out.
Quick specs
The Speedmaster 38 wears smaller than its numbers suggest in width, and larger than its numbers suggest in height.
The 44.96mm lug-to-lug span is the important figure here, not the 38mm diameter. That short span means the lugs sit well inside a 6.25-inch wrist, and the watch stays centred rather than sliding around. If you have been buying 40mm and 41mm sport watches and finding them slightly too big, this is the size that solves it.
The 14.75mm thickness is the honest weak point. That is taller than the 42mm Moonwatch Professional, which is a strange thing to say about a watch two case sizes down, and it is the direct cost of stacking an automatic chronograph movement into a small case.
In practice the box sapphire accounts for some of that height, so the watch does not feel as slab-sided as the number reads, but it will catch on a fitted dress cuff. Under a knit sleeve or a casual shirt it disappears fine.
Weight distribution is good, with the mass sitting in the case rather than pulling toward the clasp, and after a full day the bracelet had not shifted position once.
Omega Speedmaster 38 specifications
The case, dial, bezel, and bracelet, component by component.
Case and crystal
The 324.30.38.50.01.002 uses a redesigned 316L stainless steel case that keeps every structural Speedmaster cue: the asymmetric flank, the lyre-shaped twisted lugs, and crown and pushers partially recessed behind the lateral guard.
Finishing alternates brushed tops with polished flanks, and the transitions are crisp with no rounding where the two meet. The crown is a push-pull, not a screw-down, which is worth knowing given the 100m water resistance rating. That rating is genuinely useful, and it is 50m better than the current Moonwatch Professional manages.
The crystal is a box-shaped sapphire, flat on top rather than domed, with anti-reflective treatment. It is clear and largely reflection-free at reading angles, and the raised box profile gives the dial a small amount of visual depth.
The caseback is solid steel stamped with the Seahorse medallion. There is no display back, which is the correct call for a movement finished to this level, and it keeps the case as thin as it can reasonably be.
Dial and bezel
The dial is the single biggest change from the outgoing reference. The date window is gone entirely, which restores a clean 12-hour register at six o'clock and gives the layout the symmetry the previous generation lacked.
Applied baton indices in white sit against matte black, filled with white Super-LumiNova that emits green, and the hands are simple white batons with no colour break. Legibility is excellent in daylight and good at night, though the lume is a functional Omega application rather than a Tudor-grade flood.
The bezel is polished steel with a black aluminium tachymeter insert, and this is where the Moonwatch borrowing is most obvious. The scale now uses the "Dot Over Ninety" configuration, a detail lifted straight from historic and current Moonwatch references and one that collectors will spot in a photograph.
Aluminium rather than ceramic means it will mark over years of wear, which the ceramic-bezel references in the lineup avoid. That is a real durability trade, but the aluminium also reads flatter and more period-correct, which is the point.
Bracelet and clasp
The bracelet is a five-link steel design derived from the Moonwatch bracelet, the one collectors call the "Nixon" after the gold Speedmaster BA145.022 presented to President Nixon in 1969.
The outer links are brushed and the two rows of smaller central links are polished, which breaks up the width visually and stops a 38mm watch from looking slabby. Articulation is good and the taper from the 18mm lugs is gradual rather than dramatic.
The folding clasp carries Omega's patented comfort release adjustment, giving two positions across roughly 2.30mm of extension. It is not a Glidelock-style ratchet with a dozen stops, but it is on-the-fly, it works without tools, and 2.30mm is enough to cover the swing between a cold morning and a hot afternoon.
The 18mm lug width does limit strap options slightly compared to a 20mm sport watch, so factor that in if you plan to swap regularly.
Omega Calibre 3332 movement review
How the movement performs where it matters, on the wrist, every day.
The 324.30.38.50.01.002 runs the Co-Axial Calibre 3332, the no-date sibling of the Calibre 3330 that powers the other six references in the new lineup.
It is an automatic, integrated, column-wheel chronograph with 31 jewels, running at 28,800vph with a 52-hour power reserve, a free-sprung balance, and a Si14 silicon balance spring. The architecture traces back to the ETA development shared with the Longines L688, itself a heavily evolved Valjoux 7753 with a column wheel swapped in for the cam.
Omega then adds the Co-Axial escapement, the silicon hairspring, and COSC certification on top. The rotor and bridges are rhodium plated with Côtes de Genève, and the Omega text on the rotor is filled in red, none of which you will ever see behind the solid caseback.
In use, the important detail is what is missing. This is one of the few movements left in Omega's current catalogue without METAS Master Chronometer certification.
COSC guarantees minus 4 to plus 6 seconds per day on the movement alone. METAS adds 15,000 gauss magnetic resistance and cased-watch testing, and it is the standard almost every other current Omega carries. Expect real-world results in the plus 2 to plus 5 seconds per day range, which is fine, but do not expect the sub-2-second consistency a Master Chronometer Moonwatch delivers.
The chronograph pushers have the firm, precise break of a column wheel with no mushiness, the rotor is quiet under normal movement, and the 52-hour reserve means a Friday-night takeoff will not survive until Monday morning.
Service intervals run roughly 6 to 8 years, and Omega's full service on a chronograph of this type typically lands in the $800 to $1,000 range, meaningfully more than a three-hand service.
Every Omega Speedmaster 38 reference in the new lineup
Seven references launched at once. Here is where the no-date sits among them.
The 324.30.38.50.01.002 is the entry point and the enthusiast pick, but it is one of seven references that landed together, and it is the only one without a date.
Every other model in the range runs the date-equipped Calibre 3330. The rest of the lineup pushes in the opposite direction, toward colour, precious metal, and gem setting, which tells you Omega is treating the 38mm case as a broad-appeal platform rather than a purist tool watch. Most of the previous generation has been retired, with some of the full gold and diamond references carrying over.
| Reference | Configuration | Movement | Retail (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 324.30.38.50.01.002 | Steel, black dial, no date | Cal. 3332 | $6,500 |
| 324.30.38.50.02.003 | Steel, silvery opaline dial, grey bezel | Cal. 3330 | $6,700 |
| 324.30.38.50.04.001 | Steel, white dial, blue ceramic bezel | Cal. 3330 | $7,100 |
| 324.20.38.50.02.001 | Steel and Moonshine Gold, green bezel | Cal. 3330 | Approx. $13,000 |
| 324.20.38.50.02.002 | Steel and Sedna Gold, cappuccino dial | Cal. 3330 | Approx. $13,000 |
| 324.15.38.50.03.001 | Steel, ice blue dial, diamond bezel | Cal. 3330 | Approx. $13,700 |
| 324.15.38.50.05.001 | Steel, mother of pearl dial, diamond bezel | Cal. 3330 | Approx. $14,600 |
US pricing for the three steel references is confirmed. The bicolour and diamond-set references were announced in euros at launch, so the dollar figures are converted estimates until Omega publishes US retail.
If your interest is the Moonwatch aesthetic rather than the jewellery, the decision realistically comes down to the black no-date at $6,500 or the grey-bezel opaline at $6,700, and the no-date is the more coherent watch of the two.
Selling your outgoing 38mm Speedmaster?
Now that the 2017 generation has been retired, values on the previous references are moving. Send a photo and a reference number and we will give you a real number the same day.
Omega Speedmaster 38 price and market outlook
What the new black no-date costs right now, and what it will cost in a year.
324.30.38.50.01.002 market price
Prices reflect complete sets with box, papers, and warranty card. Watches without complete sets typically trade 5 to 15 percent lower.
The Speedmaster 38 324.30.38.50.01.002 retails at $6,500 before sales tax, roughly $200 above where the outgoing 38mm finished its run.
For what changed, a five-link bracelet, a redesigned case, a new clasp system, and a no-date movement, a $200 increase is modest and arguably underpriced relative to the improvement. Omega operates an open retail network rather than a waitlist, so this is available to order, and authorised dealers will often discount steel Omega references by a percentage once initial demand settles.
The realistic expectation is softening. Steel Omega chronographs do not hold retail on the secondary market the way a Rolex sport model does, and a brand-new reference with no scarcity story will typically settle below list within twelve to eighteen months.
That is not a reason to avoid it, it is a reason to be honest about what you are buying. Anyone treating it as an appreciating asset is reading the wrong market. For how the other side of the trade is moving, our Rolex Market Report tracks the references that do hold value.
If your priority is value per dollar rather than newness, the pre-owned side of the same design language is dramatically cheaper, and that comparison is the next section.
Omega Speedmaster 38 comparisons
The new 38mm against the three watches buyers actually cross-shop it with.
Speedmaster 38 324.30.38.50.01.002 vs the outgoing 324.30.38.50.01.001
This is the comparison that defines the release.
The outgoing 324.30.38.50.01.001 ran from 2017 to 2026 with the date-equipped Calibre 3330, a date window cut into the six o'clock register, softer dial furniture, and a bracelet that did not reference the Moonwatch.
The new reference deletes the date, restores dial symmetry, adopts Moonwatch tachymeter typography including the Dot Over Ninety, and fits the five-link bracelet. It also grew by a quarter millimetre in thickness and half a millimetre in lug span, which is negligible.
If you own the outgoing reference and you liked the date, there is no reason to upgrade. If the date window was the thing that stopped you buying the 38mm in the first place, this release exists specifically for you.
| Feature | 324.30.38.50.01.002 | 324.30.38.50.01.001 |
|---|---|---|
| Date | None | Date at 6 o'clock |
| Movement | Cal. 3332 | Cal. 3330 |
| Bezel scale | Moonwatch style, Dot Over Ninety | Standard 38mm scale |
| Bracelet | Five-link, comfort release clasp | Earlier steel bracelet |
| Thickness | 14.75mm | 14.5mm |
| Secondary market | Not yet established | Softening as inventory clears |
| Production | Current | Discontinued 2026 |
Speedmaster 38 vs the Speedmaster Reduced 3510.50.00
The Omega Speedmaster Reduced 3510.50.00 is the watch this new reference is spiritually replacing.
The Reduced line launched in 1988 as a smaller automatic alternative to the 42mm Professional, and the 3510.50.00 became its best known reference: 39mm, Hesalite crystal, the modular Calibre 3220, discontinued around 2010, and now firmly neo-vintage.
The new 38mm beats it on every technical measure, with an integrated column-wheel movement instead of a chronograph module, sapphire instead of Hesalite, a silicon hairspring, COSC certification, and a vastly better bracelet and clasp. The Reduced beats it on one measure that matters enormously: it trades between $2,500 and $4,000, which is less than half the price of the new watch.
| Feature | Speedmaster 38 324.30.38.50.01.002 | Speedmaster Reduced 3510.50.00 |
|---|---|---|
| Case size | 38mm | 39mm |
| Movement | Cal. 3332, integrated column wheel | Cal. 3220, modular |
| Crystal | Box sapphire | Hesalite |
| Certification | COSC chronometer | None |
| Water resistance | 100m | 30m |
| Market price | Not yet established | $2,500 to $4,000 |
| Production | Current | Discontinued approx. 2010 |
Speedmaster 38 vs the Moonwatch Professional 310.30.42.50.01.001
The Moonwatch Professional is the watch the new 38mm is imitating, and the honest verdict is that it wins on horological substance while losing on daily convenience.
The 42mm Moonwatch runs the hand-wound Calibre 3861, which is METAS Master Chronometer certified, and it is genuinely thinner despite being four millimetres wider. What it does not offer is automatic winding, 100m water resistance, or a case size that works on a 6.25-inch wrist.
If you want the definitive Speedmaster and your wrist can carry 42mm, buy the Moonwatch. If either the size or the daily winding is a dealbreaker, the 38mm is now a legitimate alternative instead of a consolation prize, which was not true of the previous generation.
Worth noting for anyone shopping the aesthetic on a budget: the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch covers the same design language for a fraction of the price, in quartz and Bioceramic.
Is the Omega Speedmaster 38 324.30.38.50.01.002 worth it?
Our final verdict on the new black no-date 38mm.
Yes. The Omega Speedmaster 38 324.30.38.50.01.002 is worth buying, and it is the first small automatic Speedmaster in decades that does not feel like a compromise version of something better.
This watch is perfect for the buyer with a wrist between 6 and 7 inches who has been priced out of, or simply cannot wear, the 42mm Moonwatch, and who wants the Speedmaster design language without hand-winding it every morning. It is also the right call for anyone who found the old 38mm too dressy.
The no-date dial, the Moonwatch bezel typography, and the five-link bracelet are not cosmetic tweaks, they collectively change what the watch is.
Two groups should look elsewhere. If you care about METAS Master Chronometer certification, and plenty of informed Omega buyers do, the absence of it here is a genuine gap and the Moonwatch Professional is the answer. If 14.75mm on a 38mm case sounds like too much watch, it probably is, and no amount of box sapphire will change that once it is on your wrist.
The single strongest reason to buy it is that at $6,500 you are getting a COSC-certified integrated column-wheel chronograph on a properly engineered bracelet, in a size that most sport watch buyers have been asking for and almost nobody makes well.
Omega Speedmaster 38 FAQ
Does the Omega Speedmaster 38 324.30.38.50.01.002 have a date?
No. It is the only no-date reference in the 2026 Speedmaster 38 lineup. Removing the date is what allows the symmetrical three-register dial and is the reason it runs the Calibre 3332 rather than the date-equipped Calibre 3330 used across the other six models.
How much does the Omega Speedmaster 38 cost?
US retail is $6,500 before sales tax, roughly $200 more than the outgoing 38mm at the end of its run. The steel opaline model is $6,700 and the blue ceramic bezel model is $7,100. Bicolour and diamond-set references start near $13,000.
Is the Speedmaster 38 a Master Chronometer?
No. The Calibre 3332 is COSC certified but not METAS Master Chronometer certified, so it carries a minus 4 to plus 6 seconds per day movement guarantee without the 15,000 gauss magnetic resistance and cased-watch testing METAS adds. In practice expect plus 2 to plus 5 seconds per day.
How thick is the Omega Speedmaster 38?
14.75mm, which is thicker than the 42mm Moonwatch Professional. The box sapphire crystal accounts for part of that height, so it wears better than the figure suggests, but it will catch on a fitted dress cuff.
What wrist size does the Speedmaster 38 fit?
The 44.96mm lug-to-lug span matters more than the 38mm diameter. It sits cleanly on wrists from about 6 to 7 inches, and the lugs stay inside a 6.25-inch wrist. Lug width is 18mm.
Speedmaster 38 or a pre-owned Speedmaster Reduced?
The Reduced 3510.50.00 trades between $2,500 and $4,000 and carries neo-vintage character, a Hesalite crystal, and a modular movement with real service risk. The new 38mm costs roughly double and gives you an integrated column-wheel chronograph, sapphire, COSC certification, 100m water resistance, and a five year warranty. Buy the Reduced for character and price, the new one for peace of mind.
Will the Omega Speedmaster 38 hold its value?
Probably not above retail. Steel Omega chronographs sell through an open retail network with no waitlist, so new references typically settle below list within twelve to eighteen months. Buy it to wear it, not as an investment.
Where can I buy or sell an Omega Speedmaster 38?
WatchGuys carries authenticated pre-owned and unworn Omega Speedmaster references, and buys them outright with same-day payment and no fees. Browse the Speedmaster collection or get a cash offer on the one you already own.
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