Relume of an Eterna Vintage KonTiki Sonic watch

Today I present to you a true submarine, the legendary Eterna KonTiki.

With its bright colors, imposing cushion case, and tuning fork movement, we are right in the heart of the 1970s.

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Here is a NOS (New Old Stock) copy to highlight the contrast with the one I received.

This KonTiki comes directly from Sweden, and it has not been treated gently. Today it belongs to a French collector, p@tek on the forums, or b.watch on Instagram.

He presents this watch in a great article that you can find here: Eterna KonTiki Sonic

Why KonTiki?

"Wanting to prove his theory that Polynesian culture originated in Peru, Thor Heyerdahl and his crew decided to cross the Pacific in 1947 aboard a balsa raft: the KonTiki.

ETERNA sponsored the KONTIKI expedition. The watches worn by the six scientists were Eterna watches. In total, they spent 97 days at sea and traveled 7,600 km. Since then, ETERNA's sports watches have been called KONTIKI."

Text and image taken from this excellent article: Eterna : son histoire et ses modèles emblématiques

Let's get into the technical details.

The project:

The tritium in the minute hand is damaged and needs to be relumed.

I open the bottom with its characteristic medallion.

The bottom gasket is very imposing.

Here is the Bulova-licensed tuning fork movement: the Eterna Sonic 1550, which is a rebranded ESA 9162.

Tuning fork movements are unique; they vibrate and hum. To learn more about this little-known aspect of watchmaking, I recommend reading this article:

BULOVA Accutron - La révolution du diapason

I remove the movement from the case along with the hands. The minute hand is prepared for relume.

 

I apply a mixture that matches the color of the watch's patina and leave it to dry for 24 hours.

The color is satisfactory, I'm bringing the KonTiki back up.

The star of the 70s has regained its splendor, and guess what? ... It's still waterproof!

Thank you for reading this article. I'll leave you with this video where you can see how smoothly the second hand moves!

Enchanting.

 

This article is part of an ongoing exploration of vintage watches.
I offer independent analysis and private inspections for collectors.

Have a great time on the website!

Joshua Grillet