Eterna watches have long been one of the most rugged timepieces in the market. Norwegian explorer, Thor Heyerdahl led the KonTiki expedition in 1947 to prove that Polynesia had been settled by people migrating from South America and not from Central Asia. While we tend to look at Wikipedia to settle a dispute, he set the record straight through an expedition. The timepiece he used for the expedition was an Eterna watch. To commemorate Heyerdahl’s expedition, Eterna adopted the KonTiki name for a line of watches. On our search for watches we came across a few interesting vintage Eterna watches that were likely used for military purposes. We think of these as a poor man’s Submariner, but they’re well-built and in great condition for being 40-50 years old.

1. Eterna-Matic KonTiki Super – This is an Israeli IDF military issued watch with papers, in great condition and not restored. This runs on an Eterna 2824 automatic movement.
Price: TBD (Currently $800+)
Source: Ebay

2. Eterna-Matic KonTiki 200m – 1960’s KonTiki diver watch with a gold medallion on the back. We haven’t seen a model with “200m” therefore this could be a factory replacement.
Price: TBD (Currently $440+)
Source: Ebay