The Eterna KonTiki was introduced in 1958, and its first version is the reference 130T. A 1958 example sold by Watchpool24 has a stainless steel case of 36 mm (other dealer listings give 36.5 to 37 mm), an acrylic crystal and a screw-down case back stamped with the KonTiki raft motif. The dial, black when new, carries large triangular hour markers with 12, 3, 6 and 9 numerals, arrow-shaped gilt markers and radium lume, with a central seconds hand. Inside is the automatic Eterna-Matic calibre 1414UD, presented the same year and built on the brand’s ball-bearing rotor system. Dealer histories claim a water resistance of 600 m for the original case, a figure that appears only in seller descriptions. The model matters because it tied a robust everyday sports watch to the fame of a real expedition.

The name comes from Thor Heyerdahl’s KonTiki raft, which set out from Peru on 28 April 1947 with a crew of six, bound for Polynesia. Eterna says the crew wore its watches and that they kept running despite water, salt and temperature changes, though the Coronet article on the model notes that there is no direct evidence beyond the brand’s own claims. The watch was launched eleven years after the voyage, partly in answer to the Rolex Submariner of 1954, and its triangular markers recall those of the Zodiac Sea Wolf. In the early 1960s came the Super KonTiki, a diver’s version with a large rotating bezel reportedly used by the Israel Defense Forces, and in 1973 the line was redesigned for recreational divers. In 2008 the brand marked 50 years of the model with a 40 mm pink gold edition of 50 pieces showing the Raroia atoll on its dial.

Among collectors the first-series 130T is the most historically important KonTiki and is rare today, especially with a low movement number, original box and intact raft case back. Patinated “tropical” dials and original radium lume add to its appeal, while the expedition story, which cannot be fully verified, is part of its charm rather than a documented fact. The original 130T is no longer produced, but the KonTiki remains a core collection in Eterna‘s current range.