Eterna KonTiki Anniversary
The watchmaking company Eterna will be presenting a new, exclusive limited edition of fifty models, each with an original Eterna movement, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the company’s KonTiki line.
- Eterna KonTiki Anniversary
Already the explorer Thor Heyerdahl took a highly de-pendable and accurate Eterna timepiece with him on his famous KonTiki expedition across the Pacific. These extremely sturdy and water-proof watches – a rarity in those times – developed into the Eterna KonTiki sports watch line. The KonTiki line has since come to symbolise the brand’s traditional identity. The new KonTiki Anniversary design has been modelled on the first KonTiki watch manufactured in the year 1958.
The KonTiki Anniversary line has been equipped with a new automatic Eterna 3010 movement with a fast-change date. Along with centrally positioned hour, minute, and second hands, the date can be read in a date window on the dial. The movement is a variation on the Eterna 3030 calibre movement, continuing the same slim line.
Modelled on the original KonTiki sports watch line, the watch dial depicts silhouettes of the Raroia Atoll – the successfully reached, but unintended destination of the KonTiki expedition. The gold-plated triangular index marks filled out with a luminous coating on the domed dial pay homage to the original. Along with the highly characteristic triangular index marks, the hands – also gold-plated and filled out with a luminous coating – contrast against the black dial, ensuring easy readability at all times. To mark the anniversary, Eterna has opted for polished and satin-finished red gold in-stead of stainless steel as usually used for watch cases in the KonTiki line, a decision to emphasise the exclusivity of this timepiece. Paying homage to the watch design fashions of the fifties, the watch’s forty-millimetre diameter is slightly smaller than the other models in the current KonTiki line. Like the original, the timepiece has a screw-in back sporting a KonTiki medallion. The engraving depicts the KonTiki raft in reminiscence of Thor Heyerdahl’s famous expedition. Apart from that, the timepiece is water-resistant at up to two hundred metres.
The brown crocodile leather strap with crossover stitching developed especially for the KonTiki line was inspired by the hawsers used in constructing the KonTiki raft. In addition, the red-gold buckle clasp symbolises the watch’s exclusive nature.
The KonTiki Anniversary is delivered in a hand-crafted box in the traditional Polynesian style sporting the KonTiki sun god motif. The exclusive series is planned to be available in the autumn of 2008.
Eterna has been a byword in high-quality mechanical timepieces manufactured by tradi-tional watchmaking craftsmanship since 1856. Numerous major developments have emerged from the company’s long history. Revolutionary innovations such as a rotor mounted on ball-bearings and chronograph with mechanical digital stopwatch display originated from Eterna. Other milestones include the recently developed 3030 movement with a cambered Big Date as well as the Calibre 3500 hand-wound movement. This tradi-tional Swiss brand now belongs to Ferdinand A. Porsche, and is one of the world’s last existing independent watchmaking companies. As a Porsche Design Partner, Eterna is responsible for the popular Porsche Design watch collection. (Eterna press; swisstime)
Eterna KonTiki Anniversary
- Reference number: 1210.69.43.1183
- Movement: Eterna Calibre 3010; self-winding mechanical movement with hour, minute, second hands and fast-changing date; 48 h power reserve; 28.800 A/h; 24 jewels; 2 ball-bearings;
- Dial/hands: black domed dial with silhouettes of the Raroia Atoll; central hour, minute and second hands; gold-plated triangular indices coated with green illuminous material; bar indices and Arabic numerals at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock; all hands gold-plated and coated with green illuminous material; scratch-resistant, dual anti-reflective sapphire crystal
- Case/back: case in satin-finished and polished 18 carats rose gold; case back screw-fitted with KonTiki medaillon; crown screw-down; 40 mm diameter; 10.2 mm hight; water-resistance 200 m
- Strap/clasp: brown alligator leather strap with cross-stitching and pin buckle clasp in 18 carats rose gold.
- Eterna KonTiki Anniversary RRP CHF 18.900,-