One of my favorite MilWatches is the early 1970s Israeli Defense Force (IDF) Eterna KonTiki Super, which was issued to Israel’s elite naval commando unit Shayetet 13, some really hardcore Special Forces operatives and essentially Israel’s version of our SEALs. You can read about S’13 history here but suffice to say they were in the thick of it during very perilous and conflict-filled times for Israel and many of these watches have seen genuine naval special forces combat.
Although the tonneau-style case is not everyone’s cup of tea, I really like it and you can find similar typically ’70s shapes on several other dive watches of the period, including the Aquastar Benthos divers’ chronographs. At 41mm wide x 45mm long x 14mm thick this is definitely a man-sized timepiece and the super-chunky uni-directional elapsed time bezel is easy to get a grip on in wet conditions and when wearing dive gloves.
Obviously, as with so many military watches, what differentiates the IDF KonTiki Super from its civilian brothers are the issue marks engraved on the back by the quartermaster. In this case, the engravings are primarily in Hebrew, as well as containing the general spec & unique issue number of each individual watch in Roman numerals. Despite the exotic look, the Hebrew writing is essentially standard information translating to “catalogue number” and the “ע” (Tzade) symbol standing in as an abbreviation for IDF (“Tzahal”) (h/t milspectime.com).
I suggest doing your homework on the correct font and style of these engravings, because like a lot of other valuable commodities in the military watch world the IDF KonTiki is faked and faked often .
With its heavy steel screwed-back construction, screw down crown and high-pressure mineral crystal, the KonTiki Super is tough as nails and was ultra-water resistant in its day. But underneath the hood is a surprisingly sophisticated movement. Yes, it’s based one of the omnipresent ETA calibers of the time, in this case the caliber 2824. But not only did Eterna modify the ebauche with their patented 5-ball bearing rotor mount (hence their company logo) but they have added a gold-tone rotor that bears testament to a whopping 6 positional adjustments as well as one for temperature.
That’s one more adjustment than the Rolex and Omega Chronometers of the time and 7 more than the unadjusted Rolex cal. 1520 found in the iconic British Royal Navy MilSubs and Omega’s cal. 552 in the RN Seamaster 300s. Which is not to try to equate the KonTiki directly with those two watches, although I don’t think it’s too out of line to do so, but mainly to point out that Eterna went to a lot of effort and expense to essentially put a chronometer-grade movement in its flagship divers’ watch. This showed a sincere intent for the relatively small company to compete with the big boys in that niche market with the knowledge that they would also be pitching the KonTiki Super to various militaries worldwide and highlighting such benefits as the highly legible and extra luminous dial hands.
It obviously passed muster with the Israelis for many years, as there are a few earlier models that also crop up with IDF markings, primarily the enigmatic “M” serials. These are thought to be something of a “sterile” mark, not specific to Shayetet 13 forces but rather the IDF in general and are believed to exist for a longer period before and after than the Hebrew marked S’13-specific KonTikis. As with so much information regarding military watches, the best place for ongoing discovery about IDF KonTikis is over at the Military Watch Resource forums.
As I mentioned above, very often these watches have seen action and show the resultant wear and tear. But sometimes you can find cleaner examples and with their original accessories too, such as the box, tag and original Eterna-signed bracelets. Needless to say, that makes this already special MilWatch a bit more so, as collectors love all the extra goodies that originally accompanied a vintage timepiece. But the watch is the thing and the IDF KonTiki Super has the military pedigree to make it a highly desirable collectible. With its issue period of circa 1970 to 1974, not only was production somewhat limited but also they all had the potential to see action in the field, which is always a big plus for a Military-issued watch (see the RN MilSub and the Falklands War for example). Best of all, though, is that the KonTiki is still eminently wearable in day-to-day circumstances and needs no babying. It’s tough, rugged and bold looking on the wrist and I’m pretty certain that if you change the gaskets and get it pressure tested it will show excellent water resistance due to its excellent construction. After all, if it was good enough for Israeli commandos on Special Ops during the Yom Kippur War it’s pretty certain to survive the rigors of your daily commute.
If you can’t locate an original vintage KonTiki Super, Eterna now makes a very faithful homage called the “1973 Heritage”. Although I almost always vote vintage, and I certainly do in this case as well, the modern version is certainly not a bad option at all.
