The Omega Electroquartz f 8192 Hz. The movement is the quartz Cal 1300, the designation Omega gave to their Beta 21 movements. The Beta 21 was developed by CEH in the 1960’s with the participation of 21 other companies including Rolex, IWC, and Longines. Launched in 1969, these watches were the pinnacle of technology at that time.

The frequency of 8192 Hz of the rod quartz was divided by a chain of five binary circuits (IC) and decreased to 256 Hz. The frequency was now sufficiently low to power a resonant micromotor which drove the ratchet wheel and the hands. This type of motor was in fact a vibrating blade whose vibrations were maintained and synchronized by the output signal of the binary two-divider. It has many similarities to the Longines UltraQuartz; when held to the ear, both the Longines and the Beta 21 can be heard to vibrate….rather than hummm like Accutron and other tuning fork watches.

Pictured below is an early Electroquartz with the crown on the left; later models reverted to the crown on the right.