Rebellion Timepieces – An Ode to this Artistic Creator

If you browsed the Rebellion Timepieces website (https://rebellion-timepieces.com), you will notice the following message pop-up:

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Yes, this seems to be true – Rebellion has decided to focus on their automotive activities and as such, terminating the Rebellion Timepieces SA activities; now there is no clarity on the extent of this, but we have to assume that they are ceasing all operations.

Rebellion Timepieces was started in 2008 in Lornay, Switzerland by Alexandre Pesci, a third-generation industrialist (https://www.lemo.com/our-world/company/our-history) with an interest in watch-making, technology and racing. His passion for racing and cars led him to try his hand in racing by participating in the January 2020 Dakar Rally that was held in Saudi Arabia (https://www.lemo.com/article/first-step-towards-success-boldness). The idea and objective of starting Rebellion Timepieces was to bring racing and automotive innovation into watch-making and showcase their technology, complexity as well as visual art prowess. The company made their debut in Baselworld 2008 with five Rebellion watches which included a world premiere GMT jumping hour (which turned out to be the highlight), a manual wind with power reserve, a Tourbillon, a cam-lever chronograph and finally, a column wheel chronograph. These timepieces were aimed at the watch collector who was looking for the next big thing in the watch world, for someone who would look at a piece that was beyond reading time or for someone who wants something unique and a conversation starter.

From then onwards, with an emphasis on their research and development, they combined their strong technical knowledge and high-end production facilities to produce limited edition timepieces that were not only visually amazing, but also intricate in terms of the in-house movements. The company kept their watches limited between 10-25 pieces which is expected considering the uniqueness of the watches as well as the time it took to manufacture such pieces.

Photo taken at Dubai Watch Week 2023

In 2021, I had the opportunity to first set eyes on their pieces at the Dubai Watch Week (DWW) and then again at DWW 2023. To be honest, the watches look even more beautiful in hand and when I saw them again in 2023, the one that really piqued my interest me was the re-volt model, but then I came across the Magnum 450 Sapphire which turned out to be my choice, the Sapphire crystal really showcases the inner workings and somehow, this over-exposure of the movement is very elegant. The watch comes in 4 different case materials and has a case size of 46mm, it is dust and splash-resistant, and comes with 12 days of power reserve.

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Then you have the unique dial of the Predator 2.0 GMT which consists of the brake disc and caliper combination, and this watch looks like a dashboard meter in a car with the two distinctive dials. The model comes in 4 case materials with the Titanium looking the best and it is slightly larger at 48mm with 234 components as well as 42 hours of power reserve.

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However, the model that really takes the cake or you can say dead-right impressive is the T2M (The name and short-hand they use for this watch due to it’s 2-months power reserve), and this model is described as half car, half watch type. This model comes in two different Titanium case materials and the highlight of the piece is the Sapphire crystal that showcases the movement which has 420 components, gives an astonishing power reserve of 2 months and the whole movement is housed in a slightly over 58mm case.

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The Rebellion Timepieces tend to be large, bold and loud for some models, but like I said, it is for a certain category of the watch-lovers that are into such types of watches. Rebellion Timepieces have always been associated with cars and racing (obviously, considering that was the ideology behind Rebellion Timepieces) with many partnerships formed over the years, and the more recent one being the title partner for the 2023 Gulf Historic Dubai GP. I am sure some or many will miss their presence at such racing events, but the brand Rebellion will still be alive through their Racing Unit – Rebellion Racing (https://rebellion-racing.com/).

Let’s hope that the company changes their mind in the future and once again decides to showcase some of its tech prowess through watches.