Eterna KonTiki 130 T First Series

We proudly offer you this early first series Eterna KonTiki from 1958, which was released in honor of the 101-day KonTiki expedition.

The history of the Eterna KonTiki is based on the famous 1947 journey of Norway's Thor Heyerdahl. "Kon-Tiki": it was the name of the balsawood raft on which Heyerdahl and five other Scandinavians sailed from Peru to the Polynesian islands. The Norwegian explorer wanted to prove his long-standing thesis: Polynesia was not settled from the west, but from the east, before the time of Christopher Columbus. The KonTiki expedition took place in the post-war period and had great symbolic significance: It reminded the world of our desire to explore - which seemed to be lost in the decades of war. Thor Heyerdahl once said, "Borders? I have never seen one. But I have heard they exist in the minds of some people."

Each Kon-Tiki crew member carried an Eterna timepiece on their wrist. At that time, Eterna was one of the few watch manufacturers of the day to have truly mastered watchcase watertightness. 11 years after the expedition, in 1958, Eterna presented the automatic wristwatch with the name KonTiki. The very first version had the reference 130T and is now much appreciated and extremely rare. We are very proud to be able to offer a beautiful example of this special vintage watch here.

When looking at the advertisement from the late 1950s (see pictures) it becomes clear that the reliability of the watch in particular should convince the buyer: "For a man whose life depends on his watch". The first KonTiki had a stainless steel case that was waterproof to a depth of 600m. The heart of the watch was the newly developed, robust Eterna-Matic caliber 1414UD, which was also presented in 1958. These characteristics along with a clear and distinctive dial design made the Eterna KonTiki an innovative and reliable tool watch.

The first version of the Eterna KonTiki originally had a black dial. The watch offered here is now over 60 years old. Environmental influences such as sunlight and others have caused the dial to develop a beautiful tropical patina that we can admire today.

A hallmark of the KonTiki design are the large triangular hour markers with the numerals 12, 3, 6 and 9. The markers and hands have original radium luminous material, which can be detected with a Geiger counter. The patina in the markers and hands is absolutely authentic and goes perfectly with the overall aging of the watch. The gold-colored arrow-shaped hour markers contribute to the warm appearance of the watch. The design of the Eterna KonTiki is the result of extraordinary craftsmanship that was definitely ahead of its time.

The condition of this watch is just amazing. Not only is the dial excellent and preserved without major flaws, the stainless steel case has also retained its lines and edges. The winding crown is original and carries the Eterna logo. The automatic caliber 1414UD operates perfectly keeping very good time.

A special feature of this KonTiki is the very early movement number 4170xxx. This is an indication that this specimen is actually one of the very first executions. The KonTiki is accompanied by the original blue Eterna watch box, which also increases the collector's value.

In addition, this KonTiki is accompanied by the original blue Eterna watch box.

The Eterna KonTiki has remained the manufacturer's flagship model to this day and preserves the legacy of Thor Heyerdahl. From a collector's point of view, the first version of the Eterna KonTiki offered here is historically the most important model. The extreme rarity and great condition of this particular KonTiki speak for themselves.

Movement number: 4170xxx (1958)

Int.Exe.: 32803