During Baselworld 2010 I reported about the Super-Kontiki, a re-edition by Eterna of their 1973 diver’s watch. Pricing has now been announced, and Europeans will be asked to fork out EUR 2,700 to have the priviledge of owning this timepiece.
I have to say that Eterna’s pricing on this Super-Kontiki (which houses an ETA 2824-2) is too high. Another brand that plays in the same price field as Eterna, namingly Longines, has accostumed us to much more reasonable prices for re-editions. Eterna probably bets on the limited perception of this watch. I say preception, because the brand did announce that they will “only” release 1973 numbered pieces. Grown up men know when a timepiece series is really limited: anything above 500 pieces is not a real limited edition.
So when Eterna presents the amount of 1973 pieces as a limited edition, it is anything but subjective and in my eyes does not justify the high price tag. No wonder then that so many entrepreneurs decide to start their small watch business with the confidence that they can offe the same looks and quality for much less. Considering that Eterna lost all intellectual property rights over the Super-Kontiki design in 1998 (1973 + 25), it doesn’t really grant them leverage.
