# PRAETORIAN Signifer Automatic Diver



## Roy (Feb 23, 2003)

Praetorian watches have just informed me that they have shipped this top of the range watch to me to be reviewed by us.











Description:

This is the *PRAETORIAN Signifer Automatic divers watch 300m*, which made of solid 316L stainless steel. Screw-down crown and case back, 0-60 unidirectional ratchet 120 click bezel, flat non-reflecting polished sapphire crystal and integrated H3 tritium illumination which allow for unparalleled readability in dim light conditions or in total darkness. Water resistant up to 30 atm/300 metres/990 feet. This watch is so solid, strong and extremely durable and legible. 45mm wide(excluding crown), 16mm thickness, 22mm lugs.

*PRAETORIAN Signifer Automatic Military Diver Watch 300m*

*Details:*
Movement: Citizen/Miyota 8215 Automatic Movement, 21 jewels 
Case: brushed 316L stainless steel
Case back: high grade signed screwdown stainless steel 
Dial: big black with two scale standart and supplemental time
Date: quickset date between 4 and 5 O'clock
Crown: screwed
Water Resistance: 30atm/300m/990ft
Glass: sapphire crystal non-reflecting polished
Wrist Band: Divertec strap
Lug Width: 22mm
Size: 45mm / high 16mm
Bezel: one direction rotating, fine brushed stainless steel bezel with bright green H3-Index, protected by sapphire glass
Illumination: H3 Trigalights (GTLS = gaseous tritium light source) / mb microtec illumination Switzerland
Warranty: 2 Years.

*Colors of the tritiumlight´s:*
- Index "12 o'clock": orange
- Indices "1 to 11 o'clock": blue
- Second Hand: green
- Minute Hand: green
- Hour Hand: green
- Bezel: green


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## Faze (Mar 1, 2013)

Love the night shot, wouldn't it be great if the red round the Scorpion popped out too.


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## Littlelegs (Dec 4, 2011)

+1 for the night shot. Looks pretty decent, but they could get rid of the date window IMHO. Be interested in reading the review.


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## luckywatch (Feb 2, 2013)

Love those tubes that light up. I would wear that on a red Zulu....................... :yes: Got a pic of the back Roy?


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## Littlelegs (Dec 4, 2011)

Just checked their website luckywatch and the back is engraved with the scorpion. Looks good...-)


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## Roy (Feb 23, 2003)




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## luckywatch (Feb 2, 2013)

Blimey O'Reilly now I want one................. :notworthy:


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## Roy (Feb 23, 2003)

If anyone wants to review this one and wear it for a couple of weeks then please let me know


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## luckywatch (Feb 2, 2013)

Yes please.


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## Roy (Feb 23, 2003)

luckywatch said:


> Yes please.


ok


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## ColdZero (May 25, 2015)

Looking forward to seing some images of this one ... :yes:


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## bridgeman (Dec 9, 2008)

Dare one ask........how much?


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## luckywatch (Feb 2, 2013)

bridgeman said:


> Dare one ask........how much?


about £300.

I thought it would look good on this.


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## Guest (Oct 3, 2015)

bridgeman said:


> Dare one ask........how much?


£301.04 apparently


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## Littlelegs (Dec 4, 2011)

If you'd like a 2nd opinion on this I'll happily wear it for a bit after luckywatch....-)


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## Roy (Feb 23, 2003)

luckywatch said:


> Yes please.


Just arrived, what a beast 

On its way for review to @luckywatch


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## luckywatch (Feb 2, 2013)

Nice one Roy, just having a look to see what shirts will go with it............ :thumbsup:


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## luckywatch (Feb 2, 2013)

Littlelegs said:


> If you'd like a 2nd opinion on this I'll happily wear it for a bit after luckywatch....-)


Its arrived! You wont like it Littlelegs. Just leave it with me............... artytime:


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## Littlelegs (Dec 4, 2011)

Aye you're probably right lol.-) looking forward to your review though.

regards

jamie


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## luckywatch (Feb 2, 2013)

Some pictures for now. Got to go to a trade union meeting all day saturday so will get a review out next week as I will be cream crackered this weekend............ :yes:



























































































Roy this is a privilege, thanks................. :biggrin:


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## luckywatch (Feb 2, 2013)

I liked this watch straight out of the box. Military style, reminds me of my *Traser*, or a *Nite*, *CWC* stuff. Looks good on the Zulu. I got seven and a half inch wrists and this beast wears big. Not too heavy but its not shy in coming forward.

I found the Zulu not that comfy so on with some rubber and the perfect fit. Colors wont suit everyone................ :laugh:



















The date window is quite small. The bezel rotates to the left (counter clockwise) with a good firm click. Sounds lovely too.

Lets see how it compares size wise to a Vostok 420 case below.



















and below with a 710 or Ministry case.



















Looks like it has been dropped or knocked at some stage as the crown guard and crown is dinged.

Below I think my 67 Vostok Amphibia gives it a run for its money.



















The screw down crown is knurled and feels just right. First click out is a quick set date. Nice.

2nd click out are the hands but no hack only a poor mans hack. Military watch in this price range should hack. IMO.

I love T tubes and these are constant all night. The 12 is picked out in orange so you can easily read the time in pitch darkness. Its not mega bright like say a *Divex* but constant and easy to read.

Overall feels good quality and well put together with a tough sapphire crystal. Not sure how hard it was knocked for it to get the ding. Keeping good time as well, that always helps. I plan to wear it to the office all next week then report back on the time keeping.


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## Littlelegs (Dec 4, 2011)

That looks a beast of a watch, much bigger than in the promo pics. Like the look with the red rubber strap. Suits it I think. It's had one hell of a clonk on that crown guard though. Did you take a pic on the red zulu?


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## luckywatch (Feb 2, 2013)

Littlelegs said:


> That looks a beast of a watch, much bigger than in the promo pics. Like the look with the red rubber strap. Suits it I think. It's had one hell of a clonk on that crown guard though. Did you take a pic on the red zulu?


No the red Zulu is what I would buy for it if it was mine.................... :thumbsup:


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## luckywatch (Feb 2, 2013)

Worn all week for about 10 hours each day and has gained 60 seconds against my PC................................. :thumbsup:


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## mattbeef (Jul 17, 2008)

How is the bezel on this?


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## Roy (Feb 23, 2003)

Is there anyone who wants to borrow this watch for a couple of weeks and review it then please let me know


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## Ventura (Nov 27, 2006)

PM sent.


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## badgersdad (May 16, 2014)

Why does it remind me of this?


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## Littlelegs (Dec 4, 2011)

Doh! I'm in too slow again. Roy if you'd like a third reviewer let me know.

Regards Jamie


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## Roy (Feb 23, 2003)

Littlelegs said:


> Doh! I'm in too slow again. Roy if you'd like a third reviewer let me know.
> 
> Regards Jamie


 You can have it for a few weeks after Ventura


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## Littlelegs (Dec 4, 2011)

Cool, that'd be great. Cheers...-)


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## Littlelegs (Dec 4, 2011)

Well I received the praetorian from Ventura today and first impressions are good. It's a big lump in terms of case depth and sits quite high on the wrist, but not ridiculously so. Looking square on it doesn't seem much bigger than my SMP but I'll have to compare properly later. It's not uncomfortably heavy despite its size, but you know you're wearing it. The bezel is easy to use and has a reassuring click to it. I could see it being definite and practical to use underwater and probably OK with dive gloves on.

Looking at the dial the date window is pointless in my opinion. It's too small to be of any use for me and in low light you can't actually read the date at all. Well I can't anyway. Here's a quick wrist shot taken with the iPad. I'll try get some better ones over the weekend and do a proper considered review.


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## Littlelegs (Dec 4, 2011)

Well my time with the Praetorian Signifer is drawing to a close so I thought I'd post my impressions of the beast.










It is a beast, but in a good way; a nice solid lump of a watch which actually looks heavier than it wears. Despite its size it does wear pretty comfortably too, provided that is you dont want to wear it under a shirt cuff. I wear short sleeves most of the time so it wasnt a problem BUT if you're a regular long sleeved shirt wearer this watch is going to be a little uncomfy for you. Due to the case it makes the cuff feel tight and constrictive on well fitted shirts. I doubt it was designed with shirt wear in mind so i'll forgive it for that.

You can see the depth of the case in the image below & compared to my Omega SMP its huuuuge.



















In general terms I really like this watch. My only dislike really is the date window which I think is wholly pointless and non-functional. Its too small and located badly to make it worthwhile. In poor light its unreadable. The watch doesnt benefit from it at all to my mind. Sorry Praetorian, but I'd ditch the date or move it to a more easily readable position. For those with better, younger eyes than mine you'll probably find its fine but not for me. The images I've shown actually make it look easy to read. In reality it isnt.

The strap was a little uncomfortable at first, but following some adjustments its bedded in well to my wrist and the watch is comfortable to wear all day. If it was my watch I'd probably change the strap. I have a grey/black distressed leather I think may suit it, but as its not my watch I didnt want to mess around and potentially mark the lugs changing straps. I also think it'd look great on a red zulu as someone mentioned previously.

The build quality seems good, the bezel rotates smoothly with definite clicks and the crown screws down nicely and despite its size doesnt interfere with daily wear. It also feels robust enough to use as a dive watch, which given the depth rating was I guess the idea. Most wont use it as such, & I didnt, so can only assume from previous experience, using various watches whilst diving, that it would be easy to use underwater. Certainly the bezel is grippy enough to rotate with gloves on and the dial clear enough to read underwater (date aside). I also love the engraved caseback - you hardly ever will see it, but its nice anyway. The curved lugs fit quite comfortably even on my relatively small wrists.

To accuracy - the movement was a little erratic at first and after the 1st week of wear it'd gained 30seconds. I reset it against timeis & this week it is now running at a 1second loss. When I received it the power reserve was depleted so I'm guessing that may have affected the first weeks figures. Either way its not horrific, for me in any case, and its improved the more I've worn it so I'd probably live with that. To get a true picture of accuracy youd have to wear it for a much longer period.

I've tried to get a lume shot but my photography skills are not great and the images were poor so you'll have to take my word for it that the tritium lume is good enough to read at night. The differing colours for hands, 12 oclock position and number indices are a nice touch. Its not as bright as my traser but bright enough to see in the dark should you need to.

The big question is would I buy it? The answer probably surprisingly is NO, but only because of the price. I think it is priced too high when compared to similar watches with the same movement. E.g Tauchmeister have the same movement & similar looks for 170-190euros. Granted I've not had one to compare with the Praetorian but it's the same movement and similar dimensions/appearance. I've no doubt Praetorian sell many of them and I do like the Signifer, but for £300 I could get a vintage Omega or similar. To me a more realistic cost would be around the £160- £180 mark. I'm probably doing Praetorian a diservice here for the work and build quality they've put into this and , but thats my gut feeling.

Thanks to Roy & Praetorian for the opporunity to try the Signifer. I've loved wearing it & will do til the end of the week. Just a bit pricey for me at its current price. Great watch though.


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## Dan_77 (Oct 20, 2016)

cool watches


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