When collecting vintage watches, one of the best things is the different stories behind various watch models. Everyone knows the story behind the Omega Speedmaster, but that's just one of many. One of the overlooked stories is the unique and interesting background of Eterna's Kontiki collection.
The journey lasted 101 days, covered 4300 nautical miles, and finally ended with a grounding on a reef in the Tuamotu Islands.
In 1947, Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl and his team traveled from Peru to Polynesia on a balsa wood raft named Kon-Tiki, aiming to prove that early South Americans could have made the journey using the techniques and materials of that time. The journey lasted 101 days, covered 4300 nautical miles, and finally ended with a grounding on a reef in the Tuamotu Islands. However, the journey proved Heyerdahl's theory to be true.
(The Kon-Tiki raft's relief is also found on the case back of every Eterna Kontiki watch.)
(Operating the balsa wood Kontiki raft required a five-person crew. Image: https://www.kon-tiki.no/en/home)
Inspired by the journey, Eterna launched its Kontiki watch collection in 1958. The first model featured large luminous triangles at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock, and the watch itself was water-resistant to 100 meters. The watch was intended to be easy to read, durable, and waterproof, and although countless new Kontiki versions have been released since the first model, this basic idea has always remained the same.
(Image: https://wahawatches.com/the-eterna-kontiki-a-true-tool-watch/
(The first Kontiki collection watch ref 130T, where no expense was spared on the radium lume on the dial. Image: https://www.ssongwatches.com/products/eterna-kontiki-first-execution)
(One of the most common Kontiki models comes from the 60s with a light dial and a Gay Freres metal bracelet.)
(Later, the Kontiki collection began to be designed more and more as a dive watch, with increased water resistance, a rotating dive bezel, and eventually a screw-down crown. Image: https://longitudi.fi/product/eterna-matic-super-kontiki-130-ftp-sukeltajankello-vuodelta-1970)
(This Super Kontiki model was once also used by the Israeli army.)
(Kontiki was also produced for a short time with tuning fork movements.)