Michael Young

[silvershark]

Hey Guys

I've seen many people on here and other watch forums recommend Michael Young for restoration work, so I thought I would share with you my dealings with him.

I contacted Michael in February (After receiving recommendations from Forum members) and asked him if he would be able to restore my 18K/SS jubilee for my 1625 as it had a fair bit of stretch. He replied asking me to send him some pictures via email, which I did. I then received an email back which said that the bracelet could be restored, the price for the restoration and details of where to send the bracelet to. (Hong Kong) Michael also said the work would take 10 weeks max! I posted the bracelet registered and Michael received and signed for it on the 16th of February

After waiting about 13 weeks and hearing nothing I emailed Michael and enquired about the bracelet and received an email back saying that the work was progressing and the bracelet would be back with me soon. I waited another 6 weeks and contacted Michael again. This time I received an email back saying that the bracelet had been misplaced and he was trying his best to locate it and would be in touch once he had.

Another few weeks passed with no contact, so I emailed again. Michael replied asking me if I could send any more pictures with identifying marks as he still could not locate my bracelet. I replied that I couldn't as the only pics I had, were sent to him at the beggining of the process. I did however describe the bracelet as best I could.

On the 28th of June I contacted Micheal again for an update, and he replied saying that he had located my bracelet and they were working on it as a matter of urgency and he would send it back once it was completed.

I have had no contact since!! I emailed Michael on the 28th of July. One month after his last email saying the work was being done, but have had no reply! I have sent 2 further emails and still no reply!

I know Michael is a respected member of the Rolex community and well known on various forums, so I don't want to blacken his name or question his character. However I am at a loss as to what to do now. I have been pricing replacement bracelets and it looks like I'm going to have to fork out £500+ for a replacemnt! Not Happy!!!

[MonBK]

Totally understandable, I'd be furious.

Hope it ends well.

[silvershark]

Me too MonBK,

I'll post the outcome....

[Puffy]

I've thought about sending a bracelet to him too....

I'm sure he's just busy....

[jdc]

Problems happen but no excuse for not replying to questions, hope it all gets sorted soon

[dddrees]

Hope everything gets sorted out soon. Keep us posted.

[bmac11c]

He's probably extremely embarrassed. Follow up with him once a week. I wouldn't doubt that it would just show up in the post one day. Sorry to hear of your troubles.

[BeekerMuppet]

Ugh, that's no good. I hope there is a good explanation for this. Shit sometimes does happen, though.

[herdinoh]

We all know shit happens. However, communication is the key. As a business man, you need to keep your customer updated especailly when you made a mistake. I don't think what happened is acceptable. We all make mistakes, but the only approach to resolve the issue is first apologize-then make it right. Avoid the issue and protend it didn't happen will only make things worse.

[landroverking]

Off my list of folks to deal with

[hsfrank]

I think that this situation is intolerable. I would email him and tell him tactfully that if he is too busy to repair it and have it back to you within two weeks to return it immediately. If he fails to acknowledge this or confirm it. I would advise him that you are proceeding further to report this to the police ( interpol?) as a theft by deception. http://www.lrc.ky.gov/krs/514-00/040.pdf. Notwithstanding his prior reputation, having an item for 5 1/2 months admitting that he lost it , then found it then lost it again is a forerunner of disaster. Of course the alternative is that he could replace it or send you the money to do so.

[crombie]

I've done business with Michael Young 3 times in the past. He is notorious for not answering emails, and usually has a turnaround time of at least 10 weeks. The first time I dealt with him I was worried about the lack of email response, and how long it took to get the bracelet back. I soon found out that this was the norm. The bracelets that I have sent him for "repair" have turned out great, and I would use him again (knowing the above).

He did say it was a mistake, and based on his repair time you will probably receive it soon. There aren't that many Rolex bracelet repair people around, so I imagine you were wanting to save money instead of buying a new bracelet, or the bracelet had certain value with your 1625 (sentimental, or for original purposes, that is why I had my bracelets repaired).

You have to ask if saving money is worth taking a chance with him (his final product convinced me), or should you pay the high price for a new replacement 18k/ss.

I agree that this isn't the best way to conduct business, but these are the trade-offs/risks you sometimes take for this particular specialized work.

crombie

[crombie]

I should comment that I certainly hope this turns out right for you.

I don't often comment on this board, but since I've been buying and collecting watches, I've found only 2 people that I would trust with Rolex watch repair (their are another 2 that I would consider, but haven't really had a lot of dealing with them yet) and 1 person for bracelet repair. That's a very small number of places that you can turn to for repairing expensive items (high value, antique, sentimental), keeping in mind that we worry about having to ship them, repair being done competently and with care, using original parts, etc.

Everytime I have sent off a watch or a bracelet for repair, I'm a wreck until I get it back, with so many things that can happen. And we don't even want to get into how we feel when we buy from people that we don't know!

crombie

[Michael M.]

Hope it all turns out positive!

[slcbbrown]

Please, keep us informed. I've got a bracelet that I'd considered sending to him, too.

[DCgator]

I hope it all works out for you. Pls. keep us posted.

[silvershark]

Update...

Well after many polite emails requesting updates, I finally lost my patience and sent a nasty email threatening to expose him on TRF and WUS where he is a very respected member. Within an hour I got a reply admiting that he had lost my bracelet!! He has said that he will replace it with an identical fully restored bracelet free of charge, and I await said bracelets arrival.

I will update further once it arrives.

[calibre1]

Originally Posted by silvershark

Update...

Well after many polite emails requesting updates, I finally lost my patience and sent a nasty email threatening to expose him on TRF and WUS where he is a very respected member. Within an hour I got a reply admiting that he had lost my bracelet!! He has said that he will replace it with an identical fully restored bracelet free of charge, and I await said bracelets arrival.

I will update further once it arrives.

Sorry to hear that he lost your bracelet....hope he is able to replace it as he promised.

What is more appalling is that he ignored your emails till you sent him a nasty email threatening his reputation. In my opinion he is NOT trustable and should be posted in our "watch out" section. Not because he lost the bracelet but rather his failure to communicate with you on that matter urgently and to keep you updated.

My 2cents..

[1675-David]

Originally Posted by herdinoh

We all know shit happens. However, communication is the key. As a business man, you need to keep your customer updated especailly when you made a mistake. I don't think what happened is acceptable. We all make mistakes, but the only approach to resolve the issue is first apologize-then make it right. Avoid the issue and protend it didn't happen will only make things worse.

x2

[ingoodtime]

Wow, a bad time for sure. Sorry to hear things like this. He sure gave you the run around for months and as far as I am concerned, that's bad business.hope he really comes through with some results for you such as a replacement bracelet or cash. Keep us informed.if nothing happens soon, maybe we members need to besiege him with an email campaign to "get her done!"

[john7]

Thanks for sharing!

[ptugolf]

Originally Posted by calibre1

What is more appalling is that he ignored your emails till you sent him a nasty email threatening his reputation. In my opinion he is NOT trustable and should be posted in our "watch out" section. Not because he lost the bracelet but rather his failure to communicate with you on that matter urgently and to keep you updated.

My 2cents..

x2. It was too late for him to make it up.

[joeychitwood]

How does one "lose" a bracelet?

[Sub Par]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

How does one "lose" a bracelet?

Very good question!. More so when the word Rolex is involved. It wouldn't be hard to assume he sold it and couldn't figure out how to get around the minor detail of the owner wanting it back after reading this thread!.

[mikelprz]

Sounds strange. A guy that is supposedly well respected in watch and bracelet repair..loses a customers bracelet. So weird.. plus, so many months pass and yet the issue is still not solved.

I don't know the guy at all.. I don't know anything about his work.
However, his business practices seem not trustable.

He may be in need of......

Sorry,, just seems very dodgy.
First of all.. don't take on more work projects that you are unable to finish in a timely manner.
Second, if you make a mistake, own up to it and make it right in a timely manner.
Third, keep in contact with your customer, especially, if an issue has come up.

Hope you get an equal replacement bracelet and not a frankenstein piece together.
At least, he stated he will replace the bracelet. Hope you receive it soon.

Anyway, sorry to hear about this problem.
I was also looking for someone to service my 1601 and bracelet.. I guess i will rule this guy out.

[buke45]

Originally Posted by Puffy

I've thought about sending a bracelet to him too....

I'm sure he's just busy....

Being busy is not an excuse for being irresponsible.

Not cool

[padi56]

Originally Posted by buke45

Being busy is not an excuse for being irresponsible.

Not cool

Would tend to agree but over the many many years Michael Young has made hundreds of very successful repairs on Rolex bracelets.And myself on several forums have not seen a complaint about his work or loss of bracelets etc,now the length of time taken yes.And even Rolex themselves have made a few bracelet loss mistakes as posted by a few members on this forum.While yes its strange to loose a bracelet afraid human nature it does happen.Now if Michael makes good his or one of his employees mistake all is well. I most sincerely hope this will happen as a good reputation is paramount in any successful business.

[dysondiver]

michael did an airking recase and dial swap for me , and tighten up a bracelet too , the work was outstanding , my biggest fear was actually sending the watch to that part of the world , but no probs.
we all make mistakes , reputations are built on how we fix our mistakes
as far as i can see the mistake here was lack of comunication.
hope you get a good result in the end.

[EchoBlueUK]

Hope he comes through for you otherwise his rep is in tatters. Good luck!

[RLX-lvr]

I have sent 4 bracelets to him, and have nothing but great things to say.
The results were amazing! Email responses were timely for me.

I'm sure one of his employees have made a mistake, and he will deal with it properly.
We all make mistakes. I'm sure you will have your replacement soon.