Passion

The watchmaking company Eterna has presented a new, limited edition of fifty models, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the company’s KonTiki line. Already the explorer Thor Heyerdahl took an Eterna timepiece 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 instead 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.