Rebellion Timepieces – the official timekeeper of Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen – unveiled a pair of super exclusive watch series in the colours of the team’s drivers, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu. Both models incorporate a part of the drivers’ car. Customers will have the opportunity to visit the Sauber Motorsport HQ factory, as well as Rebellion Motors and Timepieces, and will be presented with their watches by the drivers themselves during an exclusive dinner.
Affiliated with the Alfa Romeo F1 Team since the beginning of the season, the Swiss luxury watch brand unveiled the two timepieces – each limited to 50 pieces – at this year’s Monaco Grand Prix weekend.
Sauber Motorsport, created by the eponymous driver and team manager in 1993, has participated in more than 350 Formula 1 Grand Prixs. Sauber and Alfa Romeo have been partners since 2018. Rebellion Timepieces is the only watch brand to have owned its own team competing in endurance championships for more than a decade. Rebellion Racing has distinguished itself at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in LMP1, the event’s premier class.
This is the first season in which the two Alfa Romeo F1 Team drivers have driven together. Valtteri Bottas began his F1 career in 2013, and the following year he claimed his first podiums. The Finn has finished seven times in the top five of the final ranking in the past ten years. Zhou Guanyu is the first Chinese driver to take part in the Formula 1 championship. He has previously distinguished himself since his debut in 2015 in the feeder series leading to F1.
The two watches, officially named RE-Volt Valtteri Bottas C42 and RE-Volt Zhou Guanyu C42, have been developed with the two Alfa team drivers in mind. The sculptural case, machined in coloured carbon, adopts the colours of the two drivers. The Valtteri Bottas model is adorned with shades of white and grey, while the Zhou Guanyu model is highlighted with red.
Both watches incorporate a fragment of the respective driver’s F1 car into their timepiece. RE-Volt Valtteri Bottas has a piece of the rear wing of the car driven by Valtteri Bottas, while the Zhou Guanyu series has fragments of the sidepod of his car. Each piece of carbon used has a visible identification number and is attached to a sideplate on the case body. A certificate of authenticity issued by Alfa Romeo F1 Team and Rebellion Timepieces attests to the provenance of the piece. The plate also bears the name and number of the driver.
On the openwork dial, bridges and hands, touches of blue or the omnipresence of carmine evoke the respective flags of the racers. The tinted small seconds disc suggests the wheels of their racing car. The watch’s mechanism is driven by the brand’s in-house skeletonized manual-winding calibre.
It has a sapphire crystal on top, and the back features the logo of the Alfa Romeo F1 Team. The edition number, X/50, and the serial number are also present on the back of the case. The straps are either Napaskiak stamped with the Team logo and closed with a Velcro buckle, or in rubber finished with a folding clasp. As with all of its timepieces, Rebellion offers its customers the opportunity to customise their watches, thanks to a wide choice of strap colours and materials.
Rebellion Timepieces offers a unique and unforgettable experience to the buyers of the RE-Volt Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu watches. Each will be invited to a special event which includes a visit to the Rebellion Timepieces and Rebellion Motors workshops, as well as to the Sauber Motorsport factory in Hinwil. The wind tunnel, where the aerodynamics of the cars are tested, will be the setting for an exclusive dinner, followed by the handover of the watches to their owners by Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu themselves.
