Press release
With their exotic-sounding name, Tangaroa watches recall a 2006 ocean-borne saga that followed on the heels of the Kon-Tiki's celebrated trans-Pacific adventures. Made of balsawood and focussing on ecological and ethnographical pursuits like its fabled forerunner, the raft Tangaroa swept across a broad swath of the south Pacific, studying the state of its waters.
What's more, the very shape of the Tangaroa case owes its subtly unexpected appearance, totally devoid of flat surfaces, to the drawings of an architect fascinated by watchmaking.
Tangaroa, a design with a taste for adventure comes together in mechanical wristwatches by Eterna.
The call of the sea
Since 1947 and the Kon-Tiki's memorable adventures, an enduring bond has existed between Eterna in Grenchen and the south Pacific. Understandably, then, the Tangaroa raft and expedition bearing the name of a Maori god make a point of selecting Eterna for the crew's timepieces.
For the moment, the Tangaroa collection comprises two basic models, each with its variants of course. They share a case conceived by an ar-chitect on the basis of drawings of circles that feature not a single plane surface. Here then, contemporary history joins original design and Eterna quality.
Tangaroa Moonphase Chronograph: the perfect instrument
Hours, minutes, seconds, the date, a 24-hour display, days of the week, months, moonphases in both hemispheres, chronographic seconds and minutes! Who can claim to do better?
At the heart of this chronograph beats a self-winding Valjoux 7751 calibre providing 48 hours' power reserve. Developing 28,800 v.p.h., it comprises 25 jewels and is 30 mm (13 lines) in diameter.
A tried and tested design, the movement delivers its time information to a stylish grey dial face featuring round stud-type hour markers overlaid with a luminescent compound. Its minute track along with the date, day and month display are black while the hour and minute hands are blue and overlaid with a luminescent compound. Also blue are the date hand and its red sickle, the chronograph seconds and the running seconds hands as well as the 24-hour pointer. The two moons appear on a night-blue ground.
Here too, a case 42 mm across in polished and satin-finished stainless steel features a screw-secured back with sapphire glass and a glare-proofed scratch-resistant sapphire crystal which together ensure its water-resistance to 50 m (nearly 165 feet or 5 bars). This model comes fitted with a polished and satin-finished stainless steel bracelet equipped with a deployment buckle.
Technical specificationsTangaroa Moonphase Chronograph
Movement
ETA Valjoux calibre 7751; self-winding mechanical movement with chronograph functions; 48-hour power reserve; 28,800 vph; 25 jewels; diameter 30 mm (13 ¼ lines), hours, minutes and seconds, date, day of the week, month and moonphase display.
Dial/hands
Silver, rhodium-plated dot hour markers coated with white luminous material; black minute track and date indication; blued hour and minute hands coated with white luminous material; blued cen-tred date with red sickle; blued centred chronograph seconds; blued 30-minute totaliser at 12 o'clock; blued continuous seconds and 24-hour display coated with white luminous material at 9 o'clock; moon phase calendar for northern and southern hemisphere at 6 o'clock.
Case/back
Round-shaped polished and satin-finished stainless steel case; anti-reflective, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal; screwed-in case back with sapphire crystal opening; water-resistant to 50 m (5 bar) / ~ 165 feet; diameter 42 mm; height 13.95 mm.
Bracelet/clasp
Polished and satin-finished stainless steel bracelet with folding clasp.
Reference Number
2949.41.16.0277
