Review 2013/04/04 (2013/03/08) (Pre-BaselWorld 2013)

REBELLION the T-1000 GOTHAM

 

The T-1000 Gotham featuring the world’s largest power reserve; vertical roller-borne hour and minute indications; and muscular case in natural and blackened titanium

The T-1000 Gotham – with a stamina of superhero proportions
Night has fallen on the city. The only sounds to cut through the incessant hiss of beating rain is a distant police siren, a sudden crack of thunder and the squeaking of rats scurrying along the gutter. It’s not just the grime and decay of the sinister streets that you can smell; the stench of crime and corruption fills the chilly night air just as sharply. There is a sense of foreboding. The end is nigh. Time feels like it’s running out….

But from the shadows, a dark crusader rises – the T-1000 Gotham – a brooding, enigmatic operator with a body so muscular, so imposing, the bad guys go running scared into the night; and with a stamina of such superhero proportions, it can keep on working day after day after day for an incredible 40 days before needing to be wound up again.

The T-1000 Gotham is a tireless ‘time fighter’. With a mind-blowing power reserve of more than 1,000 hours, it doesn't just push back the boundaries of the possible – it blows them away to create a whole new reality.

An amazing six – yes, SIX – mainspring barrels endow the T-1000 Gotham with what is the world’s largest power reserve – this colossal energy is generated by an ingenious, over-sized winding lever cunningly integrated into the back of the robust case.

The case, made from natural and/or blackened titanium, is tank-like in appearance. But this rugged, chiseled exterior belies the complexity of what’s housed within – intricate mechanics more evocative of a high-performance sports car than an armored vehicle.

THE T-1000 GOTHAM IN DETAIL

Over 1,000 hours of energy = a true endurance machine
No fewer than six mainspring barrels provide the T-1000 Gotham with its exceptional 1,000-hour power reserve – the world’s largest. In a patented system of energy distribution, the six barrels are wound in parallel by two finely-engineered chains, discharging in series (2 x 3) to optimize the torque and power to the regulator. The latter’s unconventional 39° inclined balance at 6 o’clock – which maximizes timekeeping precision by minimizing flat and vertical positions – can be seen oscillating through the sloping crystal at 6 o’clock.

Feeding the power
of the T-1000 Gotham
The T-1000 Gotham’s incredible fuel storage capacity needs to be complemented by an equally impressive power generation system. And what a system it is. The over-sized winding lever enables approximately 10 times as much winding force to be applied than a normal winding mechanism.

Stealthily housed within the case back, the mask-shaped lever can be unclipped from between the lugs, then lifted up and out, above the Rebellion logo emblazoned on the case back. Now primed for action, the lever provides a unique kinesthetic pleasure for the owner for whom the terms ‘fuel pump’ and ‘filling up the tank’ will take on a whole new meaning.

An engine that purrs sweetly – a body that means business
The innovative lever is neatly harnessed on either side of the case to robust plates, which are fixed to the chassis via sturdy hex-head bolts. Concealed behind these plates are the six mainspring barrels, three either side. Rebellion’s automotive pedigree – the Rebellion Racing team won the 2012 FIA Endurance Trophy (LMP1 class) – is evidenced by the patented time-setting clutch activated by a push button in the virile, grooved crown that makes setting the time as easy as shifting gears.

The vertical, roller-borne hour and minute indications plus large portions of the eye-catching three-dimensional movement – available in a choice of black, gold, red, blue, purple – stand out in all their glory through the upper, anti-reflective sapphire crystal. This T-shaped crystal is surrounded by a solid grill panel fixed by screws featuring the brand’s signature Rebellion logo screw heads, as is a second geometrically-angled panel towards 6 o’clock that affords a superb view of the balance wheel beating away – as well as more of the movement – through another sapphire crystal that slopes neatly with the balance’s incline.
                         
Completing the T-1000 Gotham is the black alligator leather strap and Rebellion buckle featuring patented folding clasp with micrometric push button regulation.