By Keith Bombrys
This beautiful piece made by Eterna celebrates the 70th year anniversary of the Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl’s 5,000 mile journey across the Pacific Ocean in 1947. Ironically, this journey took place on the adventurer’s handbuilt raft named the ‘Kontiki.’ Through the course of Heyerdahl’s adventures, he wore an Eterna watch due to the brands durability, ease of use, and accessibility. Eterna has decided to return the favor to Heyerdahl by coming out with its latest version of the ‘Kontiki.’
This 44mm thick piece perfectly captures the adventures of Heyerdahl and his crew on their Pacific adventures. The watch itself screams adventure, even down to the intricately cut out shapes on the face. The Kon Tiki also sports a lot of class, as it is made out of bronze, shining and glistening on the wrist of the owner. The leather strap on the chronograph really distinguishes the piece from any other, giving an actual Tiki-like look.
The hour and minute hands are clean and symmetrically cut to represent each of the hours. The shapes made of luminous material and have a bronze boarder. At 12, three, six, and nine o’clock is a very distinguished triangular shape to allow the user to easily read the time. The shape is very similar to that of a pizza slice. To really set the watch apart with its own unique look, the face is a rough, textured matte black color with white specs embedded within the design. Both the minute and hour hand of this piece are very similar in design to the hour markings o the face. The elongated, triangular shaped hands extend perfectly to fit the watch which are made out of luminous material and have a bronze boarder.
The story is told that Heyerdahl and his crew were sent off on their journey and were only equipped with one radio and six Eterna watches. Anything else that the crew needed had to be completely handmade or found within nature. In order for modern adventurers to accomplish that, they will need an extra special watch that provides the user with the essentials plus some much needed extras. The Kon Tiki Bronze definitely has the right tools and equipment for the job. With an easy to set bronze dial and a bronze one way chronometer, this piece is well equipped for any situation that an adventurer may face in the course of their journey. The real adventurer will be happy to find that the piece is up to 200 meters water resistant, providing the wearer with one other aspect to their exploration. As a bonus, the cow hide leather strap will be water proof as well.
The Eterna Kon Tiki Bronze Manufacture watch will only be produced with a limited 300 pieces in total. This is extra incentive for that serious watch collector and explorer to make sure that they get their hands on one. Each one will be priced at $2,650 and will be expected out on the market some time quickly after the Baselworld. For more info, please visit eterna.com
