Rebellion Timepieces Unveils Limited Edition Dakar 2024 Series

Two new limited-edition timepieces have been released leading up to the 2024 46th Dakar races, with both watches being dedicated to the extreme racing event.

Rebellion Timepieces’ story first began in 2007 and is set on the shores of Lake Geneva, Lonay, Switzerland. The core values that guide the brand and its development lie in passion, perfectionism and performance. Rebellion timepieces also share its DNA with its sister company, Rebellion Racing, a racing team with a long track record in the world’s most prestigious endurance events, including 13 runs in Le Mans 24 Hours.

All of the watches created by Rebellion Timepieces have been designed with inspiration taken directly from motorsports. The designs of these watches stand out from the crowd and, as the brand states, “are made with high-powered performance and in a limited series production.” The two new watches released by Rebellion Timepieces feature the stand-out designs that the brand is known for while being done on a limited series run in celebration of the 46th Dakar racing event.

The 46th Dakar Racing event is a 48-hour monster-marathon “chrono-stage” race, with 7,891 km of gravel-filled tracks and tons of sandy dunes and a total of 778 drivers in all categories combined. From 5 to 19 January 2024, from AlUla, through Riyadh, then back to Yanbu, Rebellion Timepieces are there, recording their performances as they speed along dusty Saudi Arabian dirt tracks and roads.

“The Dakar is a race against time. The gaps are measured in seconds and minutes in the first few days, then the notion of extreme endurance appears on the stopwatches, stage after stage. It’s always a question of precision, both for the drivers who calculate their trajectories and for the timekeepers who evaluate them throughout the thousands of kilometers covered. Like the most successful champions who rely on technically flawless vehicles, the organizers also count on the absolute reliability of their tools to ensure the fairness of the debates. Rebellion’s expertise in this field will be our ally once again in Saudi Arabia.”

DAVID CASTERA,
DAKAR RALLY DIRECTOR

Rebellion Timepieces has been the event’s Official Timekeeper since 2019, with the Swiss watch brand accompanying the competitors in one of the world’s prestigious endurance racing events from start to finish. As per the previous editions of this racing event, Rebellion Timepieces has unveiled two one-of-a-kind limited series watches: The Predator 2.0 3 hands Dakar 2024  and the Predator Chrono Dakar 2024.

Predator 2.0 3 hands Dakar 2024

The Predator 2.0 3 hands Dakar 2024 comes with a bold, stand-out design, with quite a lot going on in the dial. But then again, many of the Rebellion timepieces share this element of dial design; they have been able to make it work, however, thanks to large hour indices and contrasting colours for the right details.

This model comes with a honeycomb-patterned dial, which is hollowed out to reveal the movement underneath. The stand-out design elements are the Xl-sized Arabic hour indices for 9 and 12 o’clock and large rectangular-shaped hour indices for the rest of the markers. A subtle date window is also positioned at 3 o’clock. The colour sandstone has been used to make these elements contrast against the black honeycomb dial pattern and also against the movement underneath.

The 9 and 12 Arabic hour markers, along with the hour and minute hands, have substantial coatings of the sandstone colour, making them noticeable from some distance. One cool feature I like on the dial is the gold and black Dakar 2024 logo sitting at the 6 o’clock hour marker position. All of this is encased in a carbon fibre case, measuring 48mm! These watches aren’t meant for slim wrists!

Rebellion Timepieces states that the Predator 2.0 3 hands Dakar 2024 come with a Swiss-made automatic movement, which can power the watch to 48 hours of operation minimum. The movement also operates at a high-frequency of 4Hz (28,800 VpH), which ensures a high rate of accuracy on the movement. The case back has a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, which gives the wearer a look into this Swiss movement. The winding rotor of the movement has been stylised to match the honeycomb pattern on the dial. Lastly, the finishing touch to the case back is the Dakar 2024 logo inscribed onto the sapphire crystal.

Predator Chrono Dakar 2024

Much like the Predator 2.0 3 hands Dakar 2024, this Chrono version has similar design details and aesthetic colour choices. Rebellion timepieces created the Predator Chrono Dakar 2024 to more closely epitomize the spirit of the
Dakar endurance race!

While the Predator Chrono Dakar 2024 features the same honeycomb dial as the Predator 2.0 3 Hands, the rest of the design elements have changed. Firstly, we get the tri-counter layout of 3-6-9, which displays the 30-minute counter, 12-hour counter and constant seconds counter, respectively. The hands on these counters come with some design variations too. The 30-minute and 12-hour counters have “fixed” hands while the counters themselves rotate. The constant seconds counter, on the other hand, is larger than the other two and has its own hand.

There is a date window between the 4 and 5 o’clock hour indices, which is highlighted thanks to the indicator, which is similar in design to the hands on the small sub-counters. One thing that seems to bug me is that the movement seems to be a bit more noticeable in this timepiece compared to the Predator 2.0 3 hands Dakar 2024. Both timepieces come with the same skeletonised honeycomb structure; however, where it varies is that the Predator 2.0 3 hands Dakar 2024 has a diagonal honeycomb pattern, while this Chrono Dakar 2024 has a horizontal honeycomb layout.

From the pictures, it seems that with the diagonal honeycomb layout, less of the movement is seen, which allows the dial to stand out freely; however, with the Predator Chrono Dakar 2024, as the movement is shown through more with the horizontal layout, the dial incidentally becomes busier. We are presented with the same sandstone colour for the hour and minute hands, along with the hands/indicators for the subdials and date window, which makes the overall readability of the watch easier.

The Predator Chrono Dakar 2024 comes with the 48mm sized carbon fibre case, and a Swiss movement which powers the 48 hours of autonomy. Like the Predator 2.0 3 hands Dakar 2024, the movement has a high frequency of 4Hz (28,800VpH), which allows the movement to perform at a high level of accuracy.

Final Thoughts

Both models come with sand colour textile velcro closure strap, which matches the sandstone coloured details of the dials nicely. As stated previously, both models are limited edition, with Rebellion timepieces only producing 15 timepieces of each model. Of the two models, I like the Predator 2.0 3 hands Dakar 2024 because it is simpler in appearance, even with its complex dial design.

The Rebellion Timepieces Predator 2.0 3 hands Dakar 2024 and Predator Chrono Dakar 2024 are available for purchase now, from the brand’s online website.

Reference: Predator 2.0 3 hands Dakar 2024

Specification

• Case: 48mm
• Case Material: Forged carbon, titanium black dlc
• Dial: Black DLC honeycomb with sandstone coloured dial elements
• Crystal: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
• Water resistance: 50m (5 Bar)
• Movement: Swiss made automatic movement
• Movement Frequency: 4Hz (28,800 VpH)
• Power reserve: 48 hours
• Bracelet: Sand colour textile, velcro closure with black DLC titanium buckle

International Recommended Retail Price: CHF 25,900

Availability: Limited to 15 models. Available for purchase through Rebellion Timepieces online website reb-shop.com.

Reference: Predator Chrono Dakar 2024

Specification

• Case: 48mm
• Case Material: Forged carbon, titanium black DLC
• Dial: Black DLC honeycomb with sandstone coloured dial elements. Chronograph 3-6-9 sub-dial layout.
• Crystal: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
• Water resistance: 50m (5 Bar)
• Movement: Swiss made automatic movement
• Movement Frequency: 4Hz (28,800 VpH)
• Power reserve: 48 hours
• Bracelet: Sand colour textile, velcro closure with black DLC titanium buckle

International Recommended Retail Price: CHF 28,900

Availability: Limited to 15 models. Available for purchase through Rebellion Timepieces online website reb-shop.com.