One of my own personal favourite discoveries this year has been the Rebellion watch company, a young watchmakers based in Lonay on the shores of Lake Geneva.

Rebellion have entered the fiercely competitive high-end watch market but their watches are, to say the very least, distinctive and stand-out pieces and as with their . Recently launched, the new Rebellion REB-7 Manufacture Regulateur Bleu is no variation from that rule – it’s a huge 46mm x 56.7mm and 19mm in height and is manufactures in a hefty stainless steel (or red gold) sandwich modular composition case on a natural rubber strap with folding clasp.

Rebellion REB-7 Manufacture Regulateur Bleu

The REB-7 is a regulateur and showcases the company’s capacity for designing and creating in-house their own haute horology movements. I do like the regulateur anyway, but with the use of oxidised blue steel hands and indices, set against the galvanic black gold detail of the date ring and indeed the actual plates of the movement which can be seen through the skeletonised dial, this piece really has a funky cool presence.

I like the detail such as the signature screw fasteners and the beveled sapphire crystal, which as can be seen from the enlarged image above, distorts the view of the dial when looked at from the 12 or 6 o’clock positions. I also love how they get across their brand image with the logo incorporated as the overhang on the seconds hand.

Technical spec courtesy of Rebellion Timepieces.

CASE: Modular sandwich construction

Materials available in red gold and stainless steel

Sapphire crystals compound curves, bevelled edges, anti-reflection coating both faces, display back

Dimensions 46 mm x 56.7 mm x 19.6 mm

Number of components 45

Water resistance 100 m

MOVEMENT: REB-7, automatic winding regulator manufacture movement

Power reserve 42 hours

Balance frequency 28’800 A/h (4Hz)

Number of jewels 23

Dimensions diameter 30 mm x 6 mm

Finishing galvanic black gold plates, back gold date ring, gold plated wheels

Movements verified by in-house state-of-the-art testing laboratory

Natural rubber straps with double folding buckle matching case metal

Popularity: 8% [?]

The new Rebellion Predator certainly won’t be to everyone’s taste, but on first seeing it, I immediately thought this dramatic piece merited a short feature here on The Watch Press.

Firstly, Rebellion are a young company which is based in Lonay near the shore of Lake Geneva. Established in 2008, they bring a distinctive design ethos to their watches and are clearly not afraid to raise their heads above the parapet with bold styling and unusual aspects of horology.

The Rebellion founders share a deep passion for all things motor racing (although motor racing of any kind is not permitted in Switzerland!!) and their brief to Eric Giroud, designer of the watch, was to draw influence from automotive themes, using such as brake discs, drilled footpedals (pushers) and suspension components as styling inspiration.

The Rebellion Predator Chronograph - Click to expand then again to supersize

The resulting Rebellion Predator is therefore a striking piece with a head-on impression of a racing brake disc. The dial has a honeycomb background (revealing date disc and movement) onto which are fitted the chronograph counters at the 3 and 6 o’clock positions and the ‘casing’ for the sectorial small seconds at the 9.

A closer examination of these features reveals a ruby in the centre of both the 30 minutes and 12-hour chrono counters which are held in place with pushrod-style ‘mountings’ and which allow the counters to rotate beneath. Then, at the 9 o’clock is the small ‘sectorial seconds’ in which the seconds are displayed with a two-sided seconds hand which reads the inner scale (0 – 30 secs) as the shorter hand passes and the outer scale (30 – 60) when the longer end goes round.

The Rebellion Predator Chronograph - Click image to expand then again to supersize

The watch is available in limited numbers, but can be ordered in a wide combination of steel, red gold and ceramic options. Here’s what Rebellion have to say about their remarkable Predator Chronograph in their press kit:

“ Race refined components

Many characteristics of the Predator, both technical and aesthetic, are inspired directly from racing cars – like the brake disks and the pedals – and are found throughout the watch.

First we have the five-layered dial, the base of which is in a honeycomb that ensures absolute rigidity while maximising transparency and lightness.

The chronograph counters are connected to the dial by push rod shaped bridges decorated with a central ruby reminding us that, despite the watch’s avant-gardist nature, the Predator is crafted with respect to horological tradition.

The sectorial seconds at 9h are indicated by means of a double hand: a shorter hand indicates 0 to 30 seconds, which is then replaced by a longer hand indicating 30 to 60 seconds.

In red gold or steel, the hands of the hours, minutes and chronograph are diamond-cut, hollowed, and then treated with SuperLumiNova to ensure excellent legibility and a lighter vision of time.

The bezel is attached by 8 distinctive screws with heads in the brand’s logo and the back by 6 torx screws, reinforcing the racing spirit of the watch.

Another exclusivity of this model: the case, which is constructed in a complex sandwich of superimposed layers allowing considerable personalisation according to owner’s taste.

The Predator is available in several case materials: red gold, red gold/ceramic, steel, steel/ceramic and red gold/steel.

The Predator is also available in a time-only version with three hands and date, as well as a mono-pusher chronograph.

An exclusive watch for those with a passion for speed

Despite its relatively classical shape, the Predator perfectly encompasses the passion of REBELLION ‘s founders for endurance car racing. A passion that carries through to the race team that carries the brand’s name, ‘Racing Rebellion’, which will participate in the Le Mans 24 hours and the Le Mans Series with two Lola LMP1 driven by Nicolas Prost, Andrea Belicchi, Neel Jani and Jean-Christophe Boullion.

A limited edition of 24 watches, called the LM24, will be launched at the Le Mans 24 hours in 2010, and the watches will be worn by the drivers during the race. “

Technical specification:

Calibre: RE-1, automatic winding with disk brake inspired honeycomb rotor allowing a view through to the movement.

Indications: hours, minutes, sectorial seconds and date in window at 4h30.

Chronograph counters: 12 hours, 30 minutes, 60 seconds.

Power reserve: 50 hours.

Balance frequency: 28’800 A/h (4 Hz).

Dial: black DLC honeycomb.

Indexes: red gold or steel with SuperLumiNova depending on the model.

Hands: hours and minutes diamond-cut, rhodium plated with SuperLumiNova.

Case: round and customisable to taste; numbered; available in red gold, red gold/ceramic, steel, steel/ceramic and red gold/steel
- Engraved serial number on plate screwed to side of case.
- Crown in red gold or steel, with band in rubber for better grip.
- Pushers: design inspired by the pedals of a race car.
- Sapphire display black fixed by 6 torx screws allowing appreciation of the fine finishing of the movement.
- Water resistance: 100 metres.

Bracelet: black rubber.
- Deployment buckle with patented clasp featuring micrometric push-button adjustment allowing precise adjustment while on the wrist.
- Clasp in red gold, ceramic or steel, depending on the model.

Popularity: 18% [?]