I like big and bulky watches but I have a small wrist, which often causes problems when I come to try on such timepieces. The first hurdle to overcome is often putting the watch on my wrist. Those with metal bracelets need to be pre-adjusted for me, otherwise there is no point, those with folding clasps can be finicky and only straps with a simple buckle are guaranteed to fit. Then there is the problem of the case design and lugs, which may or may not fall elegantly around the contours of my relatively petite wrist.
Imagine my satisfaction then, when I discovered that the strap on the 48mm Rebellion Predator Chronograph can be easily adjusted across a range of around 20 millimetres (sufficient to cover most wrist sizes) by means of a pushbutton integrated into the clasp. There is a reassuringly firm click when you then close the clasp and its underside seems perfectly curved to fit the contours of your wrist. Such details may seem anodyne, but in my experience mastering the construction of a folding clasp is no easy task, which explains why Rebellion have a patent on this clever design. The lugs have been designed with two separate facets that allow the thick rubber strap to fall almost perpendicular to the case. The result is an astonishingly snug fit for this imposing timepiece.
The all-black look of this model was also perfect for my taste, although the Predator Chronograph is available in a range of colour combinations that mix stainless steel with rose gold and carbon fibre. The theme of robustness continues with the honeycomb bezel and its eight large screws (almost mirrored by six similar screws fixing the case back in place), the chunky chronograph pushers and the large, rubber-coated crown. The dial is technically complex, consisting of different layers on top of a honeycomb base. Applied, facetted hour markers filled with SuperLuminova inserts occupy half of the dial, from 8 o’clock to 1 o’clock, with the remaining hours indicated by dots on a separate raised flange suspended above the dial base that is also the support for the two chronograph counter discs. On a third level is a cover for the sectorial running seconds disc, which covers half of the disc. The seconds are thus indicated by a double-tipped hand of unequal length, the shorter end indicating the first 30 seconds of the minute against the inner scale, the longer end indicating seconds 31-60 on an outer scale.
The Rebellion Predator Chronograph is powered by a self-winding movement developed by Concepto with decorations specific to Rebellion, such as bead-blasted black gold, a bridge engraved with the Rebellion logo and the honeycomb winding rotor that is reminiscent of a high-performance brake disc, all visible through a sapphire crystal case back. The movement offers 48 hours of power reserve and the watch is water resistant to 100 metres.
With names like WEAP-ONE (“weapon”), Magnum and Predator, Rebellion timepieces exude masculinity and a certain aggressiveness. But they also live up to these assertions in terms of their design and robustness. One expects nothing less from the same people behind the Rebellion Racing team, who are reigning World Endurance Champions on the demanding WEC circuit.
