Hands-On: The Omega Speedmaster 'First Omega In Space' In Sedna Gold

May 30, 2017

If you're a regular reader, you already know how much I like Omega's 2012 re-edition of the historically important ref. 2998, a model that Walter Schirra wore in 1962 during his Sigma 7 flight. I bought one of my own just a couple of days after publishing the story because I couldnt find it in me to give it back to Omega. It quickly established itself in my collection as the go-to watch and took home the annual "Most Worn" title in 2016. At almost the halfway point in 2017, it looks like it will retain that title and the more time it spends on my wrist, the more I appreciate it. I enjoy it not just as a pure re-edition of the ref. 2998, but as a Speedmaster with all of the lines best attributes. The Omega Speedmaster First Omega In Space in Sedna Gold. Its precisely because of these reasons that Ive always had a bit of an uneasy relationship with another beloved FOIS edition C?the First Omega In Space in Sedna Gold. It is a gorgeous watch, no doubt, a deluxe version of my own, but I've also always thought of it as a big departure from the Speedmaster and one that I wasnt sure I felt comfortable with. Speedy enthusiasts mostly welcomed the watch when it was launched in 2015, and some have tried their hardest to convince me of its appeal, but for several reasons I have been unable to hear them. First of all, the very best and most defining attribute of the Speedmaster versus almost every other chronograph of the 1960s is its uniform black dial. The panda scheme is attractive, and the opaline dial and brown sub-dials of the Sedna Gold edition works particularly well, but it felt like Omega was encroaching into enemy territory C what Ive learned since going hands on with the Sedna Gold edition is that another model set this precedent 20 years ago. My own Omega FOIS. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, Ive always found that putting the Speedmaster in a precious metal was a bit of a bourgeois move. The Speedmaster was (and I consider it to still be) an affordable sports watch, and definitely an everyday watch. At $18,000, this Sedna Gold edition remains affordable to a sub-section of Omegas clientele, but it doesnt really feel in keeping with the spirit of the Speedmaster.But recently I got to spend some quality time with one of these watches, and Ive got to say, it has challenged some of my viewpoints. It's a Speedmaster with a panda dial. What could you possibly have against it? Right away, I was struck with how gorgeous the Sedna Gold FOIS is in person. It looks nothing like my watch, but it looks fine as hell. One thing Ive noticed taking photos of watches for a few years is that the better looking the watch, the easier it is to photograph, and here the photos speak for themselves. If ever there was a looker, this watch is it. If you ignore the Speedmaster's reason for being, you have to admit this is pretty terrific looking. This being one of the FOIS editions (Omega introduced another panda dial last year, this one blue and white and cased in stainless steel), but one that looks nothing like my own, the watch feels very familiar but it offers a completely new sensory experience for the eyes and to the touch. It's hard to see past the new dial, but everything you see here you see in the original FOIS (but this time with more gold). Because they look so different, its easy to forgot how much the two watches have in common. The size of the case (39.7mm), the external tachymeter scale with dot over 90, the alpha hour and minute hands, the alpha and baton hands on the subdials, all of that Omega has kept intact, and theres nothing new to signal on the mechanical side either. Both watches are powered by the manually-wound Lemania-based caliber 1861, which incidentally isnt the caliber which powered Walter Schirras watch, but it is based on a movement that Omega has been using since 1968. What has changed is pretty significant though. Omega has decided to work with gold, and not just any kind, preferring a unique and property combination of gold, copper, and palladium to achieve a warm tone that lies somewhere between red and pink gold. To complement it, Omega has created a brown ceramic bezel, which again offers a little more nuance then going with straight black ceramic. And because it is gold, one of the most unsettling features of the watch, besides its distinct look, is it heft. As expected, the Sedna Gold version feels heavy on the wrist, and this isnt something most Speedmaster owners will be used to. The great majority of these chronographs (and there are many variations) are made in stainless steel, and if youve worn one of the classics before, well, youve pretty much worn them all (there are slight differences when you compare pre-moon and moonwatch cases, but generally, all reasonably sized Speedmasters provide a similar wearing experience). My wedding ring is a good point of reference to show the difference between traditional yellow gold and Omega's proprietary Sedna Gold alloy. Its impossible to make a straight comparison between the original FOIS and this gold edition, but I will say that one feature I miss in this present version is the distinction between the time-telling functions and the chronograph, which I thought was brilliantly done by using polished steel for the first, and painted batons for the second. For the Sedna Gold version, all of the hands (and the applied logo) are gold. Of course, the contrast between gold hands and white batons would have been too stark. The Golden Panda, a limited edition for the Japanese market. (Photo: Kirill Yuzh and Omega Forums. ) Whats interesting about the original FOIS and the Sedna Gold edition is that while the first tries very hard to replicate the features of Walter Schirras ref. 2998, the second takes a confident step into the opposite direction. But this isnt Omegas first crack at a gold panda dial Speedmaster. Japanese collectors might remember the legendary Golden Panda, a 40-piece limited edition of the Moonwatch in yellow gold with a traditional black-and-white panda dial that was released in 1997. I have to say I much prefer this edition, with the softer Sedna Gold alloy, and the brown bezel and sub-dials to the Golden Panda, but it's important to understand where this watch sits in Speedmaster history. The watch features a solid caseback with the Seahorse medallion and the words 'The First Omega In Space' and 'October 3, 1962.' So, who is the Sedna Gold FOIS for? Is it the Speedmaster enthusiast, who has a couple of the heritage models and wants something with a bit of pizzazz (and this watch delivers on that front), or is it someone who doesnt really care about the Speedmaster story and just wants a good looking watch, whether its design is new or not? I dont know, truly, but after spending some time with it, I definitely want to be that person who dishes out $18,000 on a gold Speedmaster that doesnt really look like one. For more information, visit Omega online.