Great watches never dieEterna: The new Royal KonTiki Two Time Zones
Long celebrated, KonTiki is back. Countless changes and improvements later, that historic timepiece has morphed into today’s sturdy, sporty KonTiki. What’s more, it comes with a brand-new heart.
Quite some heart too! It is the first of the 88 possible variants of Eterna’s new Calibre 39. This little mechanical gem really sums up the company’s centuries-old history. It owes its existence to the the combined efforts of the company’s teams of watchmakers and technicians’ drive to design and devel-op a proprietary calibre family whose streamlined construction would be optimised. The new calibre family’s initial version, calibre 3945A, was chosen for the new, handsomely designed model, the Royal KonTiki Two Time Zones. In line with the proud traditions of the KonTiki family, the newcomer’s rug-ged yet stylish design reflects its sporting spirit.
Calibre 39 – smart and multipurpose
In 2007, when the Calibre 39 project was launched, Eterna was seeking to design a proprietary self-winding chronograph movement featuring three sub-dials whose rationally designed production pro-cess would compress costs accordingly. Years later the results would exceed expectations by a wide margin: Eterna’s workshop efforts yielded an entire calibre family – no less than 88 distinct variants built around a single basic calibre ranging from a hand-wound movement displaying hours and minutes to a self-winding chronograph.
Three screws are enough to attach or remove any and all of the auxiliary modules, or sub-assemblies, comprising unusually few components, some 70 percent of which originate from the Grenchen area. To its makers’ pride, the assortiment is of chronometer quality and include a now-improved Sphero-drive device. Little wonder Eterna’s watchmakers and technicians feel a considerable measure of pride, matched only by its future wearers’ own enduring satisfation.
Royal KonTiki – from ports to sports
To keep global travellers happy, Eterna has fitted its new model with a second time-zone display. To attract sports enthusiasts, it designed the Royal KonTiki for sturdiness as much as for stylishness: it is water-resistant to a depth of 100 m. To its 42 mm Ø polished and satin-finished stainless steel case, Eterna designers have added sand-blasted curved grooves reminiscent of its 1970s predecessor. The new model’s generous curves are, however, all its own.
Efficient and practical for sports and travel
In addition to the four basic functions – hours, minutes, seconds and date – the Royal KonTiki’s black dial shows a second time-zone via an easy-to-read ring, darker-hued for night hours over which sweeps a red-tipped fourth hand. A slim seconds hand moves over a minute track calibrated in fourth of a second while the hour and minute hands carry a strip of luminescent compound. A scratch-resistant and anti-reflective sapphire crystal protects the dial face. Finally, PVD cladding on the five screws and on the crown guard along with a black rubber strap with standard pin buckle complete the design of the Royal KonTiki.