Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Eterna Kontiki First Execution, 1958
- Maker / attribution
- Eterna (maker)
- Date
- 1958
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- Product 1321386770519
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, S.Song Watches (product 1321386770519)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Eterna Kontiki First Execution (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle (stock number Product 1321386770519), this is a wristwatch by Eterna, made in Switzerland, dated 1958. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — S.Song Watches
First off, if you’re wondering, the name Kontiki comes from the expedition undertaken by Thor Heyerdahl in 1947. With 5 companions, he sailed from Peru to Polynesia with Pre-Columbian technology and had nothing in the form of modern technology but a radio and their Eterna watches. As they were successful, Eterna decided to name this model after their heroics and so to some extent, this could certainly be considered the equivalent of the Rolex Explorer. The Eterna Kontiki is a historically important watch model and is still produced by Eterna today, albeit very different looking. Of all the Eterna Kontikis, the most beautiful and rarest of them all would have to be what you see here, the First Execution. This was the first Kontiki ever released in 1958 and it features a beautiful glossy gilt dial with huge markers filled with lume for improved legibility. As you can see, this example has aged and gone an insane tropical. Under the sun, it is seriously one of the most beautiful dials I’ve ever come across and the photography really does not do it justice. Complement this with the yellow-orange patina on the dial and hands and the perfectly glossy dial, you not only get a rare watch but one in a unique and astounding condition. This is truly a collector grade watch and one that would stand out in any collection.
Historical context
Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.
The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking
Atlas type guide
Wristwatches
Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.
After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.
What to look for
- The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
- The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
- Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
- Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
- Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
- Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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