Pablo Profundo Rolex Homage | Hands-On Review

Pablo Profunfdo Rolex Homage

Do you know a statement that is not regularly said in the watch community? “We need another Rolex homage!” There is a good reason for that, as the watch world is flooded with these homages, especially for the submariner style or dive style of watches that Rolex produces. Today I am looking at the Pablo Profundo Rolex Homage. These days, its all about the vintage baby, yes, vintage is in, old is new, and everyone wants to capitalize on it. Could you imagine if Rolex actually produced a similar watch to this one? They would sell tons of them, but for some reason, they really don’t listen to the watch community. Anyways, while some of what I have written is tongue in cheek, the reality is most brands continue to produce these homages because they sell. Countless brands have made their bread and butter on watches like this. But the big question here is, who is Pablo?

Pablo Profundo Rolex Homage Specifications:

• Movement: Swiss automatic movement ETA 2824-2
• Luminous: C3 SuperLuminova
• Case: 316L grade stainless steel
• Bezel: 120 clicks unidirectional stainless steel bezel
• Crown: 6mm screw down “Big” crown
• Lug: 20mm
• Crystal: Box-shaped sapphire crystal + internal AR coating
• Strap: Riveted stainless steel bracelet, Satin brushed/polished finishing. 20mm tapers to 16mm.
• Water resistance: 200m
• Dimensions: 40mm in diameter, 49mm lugs to lugs, 12.75mm thick
• Weight: 160 Grams
• Power Reserve: 40 hours
• Warranty: 2 years

Price $520 from Gnomon Watches.

http://www.gnomonwatches.com/watches/pablo-watches/profundo-vb-1

So, unfortunately, I do not know who Pablo is, or why that name was chosen for a new brand of watches. Looking at their website does not give me a lot of info either, except that they started in 2018, and this Pablo Profundo piece is limited to 200 pieces. The reality is, it is a weird choice for a brand name, it would be like if I started a brand tomorrow and just named it Don. Yes, lots of brands have used real or made up names for the company, Maurice Lacroix, Daniel Wellington, Christopher Ward, etc, but Pablo just really does not have the same ring to it, does it? More than just the name being a weird choice, I do not know much about the brand and have not seen a lot of marketing from them either. I just not know what person or company is behind the brand.

What I do know is that the Pablo Profundo Rolex Homage is being sold by Gnomon Watches, a very well know and reputable company out of Singapore. The owner of Gnomon Watches is the same man behind Dievas Watches and they sell a lot of great brands on their site. I thought maybe this watch is being made for them or they have something to do with it, but they did not say anything to me as of yet. I will update this review if they end up giving me any more info or backstory about Pablo. I know this watch might not be for everyone, as not everyone likes homage watches, but if you are not familiar, do check out Gnomon Watches as they carry some great brands such as Seiko, Damasko, Steinhart, Oris and many more.

Back to Pablo though and the Profundo Diver. Yes, it is another vintage Rolex homage, but as I said earlier, the reason so many continue to make this style of watch is because they sell. Many love these homages and the vintage is super hot right now especially. I did a review on a similar style Borealis a few years ago, and they sold out pretty quickly of that model. This one stacks up with most of the other similar watches with a 40mm case, the box sapphire crystal, a Swiss ETA 2824 movement, and the vintage style lume. It is similar to the Steinhart Vintage Military model and that one seems to be a hot seller as well.

Overall, the Pablo Profundo Rolex Homage is built well, has a large crown that is easy to use, drilled lugs to get the bracelet off easy and I feel the entire watch is nicely machined and finished. On the bracelet, it comes in at 160 grams which is not overly heavy and for those that like to stay true to vintage pieces, the bracelet tapers from 20mm to 16mm at the clasp. As you can see in the pic above though, while it does have gilt style hands, the markers just have a cream colored dial print that surrounds them, and I think it was a missed opportunity to not have them gilt as well. Otherwise, the dial is clean and uncluttered and with an obvious familiar aesthetic.

The bracelet is a little annoying since there are two rivet screws in each link, and you need two screwdrivers to size it, so if you are not a patient person, go ahead and take it to a jeweler or watchmaker to size. The clasp is also a miss for me. I expected a dive clasp with a lock bar and a dive extension. This watch is rated for 200 Meters and has a screw down crown but is not ISO rated either, so I guess they are going for more fashion over function here with the clasp. If the bracelet does not work for you, an Isofrane or tropic style rubber would look pretty good on this watch.

C3 Superluminova is used and lume is not a concern with this vintage dive watch style.

Heres the deal. The Pablo Profundo, bad name aside, is a well built and nice looking homage. Do I wish they produced something a little more original? I am not going to lie, I do. I am also a reviewer who sees a lot of these watches, so my perception is probably skewed. While there are a lot of other options out there when it comes to this style of watch, at $520, I would say this one is good to go, and if you are looking for a vintage style Rolex homage, I do not think this would be a bad choice at all. I have no idea if the brand Pablo is a one and done or if we will see more models down the line from the upstart brand, but I doubt it will be something we haven’t seen before, but people seem to like familiarity and why try something new when a proven formula obviously works.