Omega speedpost enthusiasts never forget another reason for the flight – it was the first time the famous replica omega speedpost had gone into space. Mercury-Atlas 8 carried both Schirra and his watch into orbit and while the reference CK2998 would not ultimately become the first model flight-qualified by NASA, first is first. The model known as the First Omega In Space, which is based on CK2998 with some minor differences debuted in 2012 at which time Ben Clymer examined it closely and did not find it wanting, and its slightly smaller-than-usual size and general air of past glories brought into the present has been with us, in various and sundry editions, ever since. 
This newest edition of the First Omega in Space will be sold at a rather unusual venue – the gift shop of that grey eminence and pride of upper 5th Avenue, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The release of the fake rolex watch will coincide with the opening of the Omega-sponsored exhibition, Apollo’s Muse: The Moon In The Age Of Photography, which opens this Wednesday July 3rd. Omega says that “visitors will be able to view more than 170 photographs and an array of related drawings, prints, paintings, films, astronomical instruments, and cameras used by Apollo 11 astronauts” as part of the exhibition, which looks at “visual representations of the Moon, from the dawn of photography to the present day.”
There are of course some outstanding features about this latest numbered edition – the largest departure between it and a regular production First Omega In Space is the caseback, which in addition to the date nod to Mercury-Atlas 8 and the usual “First Omega In Space” also consists of “The Met” and the number of the replica watch.
The Met edition also comes in Met-specific packaging, and on a red and white strap. If you happen to like the basic First Omega In Space, there is no more reason to refuse this model and it seems likely that it will find a certain number of takers at the Met gift shop – to me, as a permanent fan of both the Speedmaster, and the Metropolitan Museum Of Art, I am not the least bit sorry to see the watch there, and I hope they sell lots of them.