Versatile, it is not...

Yup, this is definitely not a daily driver if your standard millieu is the office. Even if there was a bracelet option, it's just so "out there", that it would still be calling waaaayyy too much attention to itself. Mind you, I don't concern myself overly much with what others think of my watch vs. wardrobe appropriateness, but this one stretches the boundaries a bit. Fortunately Friday is jeans and t-shirt day, so that's when I break it out. And weekends, of course.

Mind you, it's this lack of versatility that I enjoy so much. As you pointed out, this a diving instrument, first and foremost. Eterna really burned the midnight oil trying to rethink the concept of a diving watch from the ground up, and it shows in the final product. As weird as the watch looks, it actually works. The bezel is a cinch to turn, wet or dry; the crown is just the right size to turned by a thumb -- gloved, or otherwise; and thanks to some weird angling on the sapphire crystal, and slight manipulation of the reflector, parallax error when viewing from an angle is all but eliminated. These details are what I appreciate most about this watch; the fact that I find it to be beautiful in execution is happy accident.

Would I like it better with their in-house movement? Of course, though I do find the power reserve to be an interesting, if superfluous complication (it's the only watch in my humble collection that features one). Mind you, since the 2897 is an ETA, it almost counts as in-house, right? :-P Seriously, though, I will confess that I'm puzzled as to why Eterna seems to be holding back on the 3030, and isn't sticking it in watches left and right. Eh, what do I know? They've got folks smarter than me figuring this stuff out, so I'll leave 'em to it and just get on with the business of this beastie.

Regards,
Adam

PS - Hopefully I'll have a chance to put the KonTiki through its paces on vacation in March. We'll see...

The mythical Eterna KonTiki Diver "Concept"...

By: craniotes : January 25th, 2010-20:23

At the behest of our esteemed JLC forum moderator, I'm posting a little something on this recent acquisition of mine. First introduced as a concept rendering at Basel 2005, the Eterna KonTiki Diver was supposed to herald Eterna's return to the US marketpl...

Thanks a lot, Adam, for this nice and funny post

By: amanico : January 26th, 2010-00:04

I loved a lot the way you described your Eterna, and your 3 years old son's reaction. That's a strong watch, with a lot of character! Its thickness is impressive, but the way this watch opens it much more amazing. I love a lot, too, the construction of th...

Don't mention it...

By: craniotes : January 26th, 2010-08:29

I was only too happy to oblige you, Nicolas (ask my wife -- I don't shut up once someone asks me about a watch). Regarding your questions, the watch wears smaller on the wrist than one might think from the shots I posted, yet in spite of the titanium "con...

A diving instrument

By: tee530 : January 26th, 2010-08:11

Wow, that's a lot of presence. It seems to me that Eterna decided to make a diver's instrument watch, with the emphasis on instrument. The size, the flip-out watch head, the crown, the internal bezel all seem designed for functionality underwater. However...

Versatile, it is not...

By: craniotes : January 26th, 2010-09:03

Very informative write up with

By: cfdfire : January 26th, 2010-15:39

some very nice pix.I am a bit curious as to why they went bidirectional with the bezel.One would think they would keep with the majority of divers bezels to be unidirectional as they are one way for a very serious reason .Thank you,cheerz

They thought of that...

By: craniotes : January 26th, 2010-16:15

Thank you for your kind words, particularly with regard to my photography, which has earned me a less than stellar reputation on some of the less, ahem, refined forums on the 'net (I think they're kidding, but still...). As for the bezel, it's locked in p...

Bezel..

By: BDLJ : January 26th, 2010-19:33

I know what you mean concerning the convenience of a bi-directional bezel - I often dive with watches old enough to used them. Checking computer, watch and compass is something we do on our simplified s-drills, so the uni-directional is not that big a dea...

Point taken...

By: craniotes : January 26th, 2010-19:53

In practice it's actually quite easy to use, but regardless, it is yet one more step that one must take to set the bezel. The one advantage it has over standard bi-directional bezels, however, is that once locked, it can't move. Period. I'm not sure that ...

Thanks

By: cfdfire : January 27th, 2010-02:42

Adam for this information.This locking system and internal bezel are an excellent combination.My first "Divers" watch had the standard external uni bexel and i had to replace it a few times just because of everyday abuse.I did (and still do) alot of comme...