A Very Well Preserved Eterna-Matic KonTiki 20 on a Beads of Rice Bracelet with a Beautiful Black Dial with a Date Aperture, 1969

The watch world is no stranger to an adventure hero, Rolex has Sir Edmund Hillary and the death-defying Everest adventure giving way to the Explorer, and Omega boasts the first watch on the moon through Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin with their Speedmaster.

A lesser known fact might be, however, that Eterna acquired a true adventure hero watch before its rivals, thanks to the journey by raft across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands, led by a Norwegian academic, explorer and writer. 

Thor Heyerdahl and his crew of five sailed for 101 days, covering more than 4,300 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean on a raft named Kon-Tiki as an experiment to prove that sailors from South America could have journeyed to Polynesia.

He recreated a 15x30ft craft in the same way earlier mariners would have done, constructed with only the materials and technologies available at the time - his point being that the raft itself could make the journey - although they did make use of modern equipment which included - you guessed it, an Eterna watch. 

As Eterna puts it: “The seaborne adventure of a young Norwegian – who, in 1947, decided to demonstrate the validity of a historical and geographical hypothesis of his – was to have consequences both unexpected and welcome for a manufacturer at the heart of the Swiss watch industry. It would later lead Eterna to issue a watch called KonTiki, which gradually grew into a dynasty of sports, diving and dress watches.”

What's on Offer

The story behind a watch always makes it more appealing wouldn't you say? I think this story is particularly fantastic and am now keen to watch the movie and read the book, and of course, own a KonTiki watch.

This example is in superb pre-owned condition and looks beautiful on the wrist. It would make a great everyday watch as well as being perfectly appropriate for more formal events - due in part to the fact it is paired with its original Eterna beads of rice style bracelet with KonTiki engraved on the clasp and to the caseback you can see the Kontiki raft emblem in gold.

The dial is stunning, rich black with a relatively simple design incorporating applied baton hour markers and stick hands with luminous inserts for better visibility in low light. A subtle date aperture sits at 3 o'clock and the Eterna-Matic and KonTiki signatures complete the picture. 

The watch is in superb condition with only slight signs of previous wear - but nothing we wouldn't expect to see and certainly nothing of any concern. The case and bracelet are very well preserved, this watch has been meticulously taken care of, you certainly wouldn't know its approaching 60 years old!