Reverso Day/Night - Your Thoughts?

I've been looking at Reversos lately, and I find the Day/Night ones quite attractive.

There's one available on ebay. It looks a little worn, but I'm wondering whether or not to put in an offer.

So I'd like to ask for your advice:
1. Is it genuine? I think it looks legit, but I haven't got enough experience.
2. Any warning signs or red flags you can spot?
3. Has anyone dealt with this seller before? (I could only find 1 prior reference to him here in this forum, where he was said to be a 'watch and jewelery picker'. What does that mean?)

Any info would be welcome - thanks!

I really wouldn't bother with this one.

It is a Reverso Duo with a cal 854 movement. These came out in the 1990's on Ostrich straps and are still available today. I don't know when they switched to Alligator straps but it was after 2002.

Due to the worn strap I believe the seller that it is original to the watch. But I don't therefore believe it can by any measure be called vintage. It's just in bad condition. Personally I usually avoid this seller as he just seems to churn through watches that nobody here would find attractive.

The model is nice but very common. Also it is a small size, which may not suit you. The Duo's are popular and now come in various models and sizes, so you could do a lot better than this one.

Thanks guys for the info. 👍 Will pass on this one.

Hi all, there's another Reverso 270.8.54 on WUS. It's sold by a seller (Krlyuzh) who appears to have had good feedback on WUS and Rolexforums.

It definitely looks like it's in better shape than the one I first posted about - is it worth taking a shot at it? Your advice regarding condition would be helpful, thanks as always!

Thanks Privateday. Is SpikiSpikester Warren? If so, Spiki, your opinions will be most helpful!

Perhaps "enthusiast" is better than "expert" 😉

Personally, I think this watch looks a little tired. There are quite a lot of surface scratches to the case and the ostrich strap looks like it has soaked up a fair bit of sweat - which is enough for me to ditch it.

Also, it is a 2001 watch with papers, but no recorded service history. As the watch looks like it has been used heavily and not babied you have to expect to service it. The movement is a JLC in house job, so I don't know how easy it is for general watchmakers to get parts or work on the cal 854.

Generally, It all looks correct & the price seems acceptable, but not exceptional, compared to European prices. I can't say what they go for in the US or Asian market. To me the price is explained partly by the condition of the case. For a bit extra, it would be worth waiting for a cleaner example. There are usually quite a few on the market so they aren't massively hard to find.

I know you are keen on this design, but it is the plainest and most common of the Duoface variants. If you want something a bit more interesting of this sort of age you might want to investigate pieces like the Reverso Memory or Reverso Geographique as alternatives.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Warren for your sagely advice 😉 The seller did offer to polish the case if the buyer so requested, to be fair, but there's always the risk the seller may overdo the polishing I suppose.

And after servicing costs, strap replacement costs, it's begining to add up. So I'll probably pass. Thanks also for suggesting the Reverso Memory and Geographique. I checked them out but found I still preferred the simple Duofaces. It's amazing, the variety of Reversos out there!