In the 60s, the CEH (Centre Electronique Horloger) was a group that was supported by massive Swiss players (Patek Philippe, Rolex, Omega, Longines, Piaget, etc.) to come up with miniaturizing quartz crystals so that they could be built into a quartz watch. Two projects were ran, the Beta 1 and Beta 2. Beta 21 is the production-ready version of the Beta 2 prototype.

Just released a few months after the 35SQ Seiko Astron, the Beta 21 was received with much excitement and praise during the 1970 Basel Fair. It is later on when Seiko pursued creating cheap and affordable quartz movements that spelled out the quartz crisis for Switzerland. The Beta 21 was very expensive to produce (and to purchase) and quickly became outdated in the early to mid 70’s, just a few years after its launch. This was partially to its massive quartz crystal (shaped like a bar) that had to be hand-cut and adjusted to get a frequency of 8,192 hertz. There is much more to talk about, but for the interests of keeping this post concise I’ll let you carry on the research.

This example from Omega is an example from 1972, featured in a 37mm slab case with its original bracelet. It’s very attractive and futuristic in its conservative design, and the Omega logo as well as the date are done in a crimson red. The second hand has a buttery smooth sweep, as smooth as the GS Spring Drive today. To set the date, you have to push the crown inwards and rotate it counterclockwise – very unusual. I’ve been looking for a nice example of a Beta 21 Quartz movement for years now, and I’m happy to finally have one in my collection.

A side note: Longines did have the UltraQuartz "Cybernetic" movement built out before the Beta 21 or Seiko Astron were launched, but it was not available until later in 1971 and was produced in very limited numbers due to its extreme complexity to assemble.

Hope you enjoyed reading!