Michael Young

[316lad]

Originally Posted by eelpie

. . . I have just asked Mr. Young about the status on my bracelet for the second time in three days.

If I do not have a response in 5 business days I will be forced to escalate the matter with the authorities in Hong Kong.

There is patience, and there is sitting idly by while something unseemly is unfolding . . .

Given this thread I'd give him 24 hrs.

[eelpie]

Yesterday morning I received this from Mr. Young in response to my queries:

"will check and come back to you"

Unless Mr. Young is running a business as large as General Motors, or his sub-contractors are spread across the width & breadth of China, I am not quite sure why it would take any sort of lengthy period to find my bracelet and learn its status.

I hate to appear impatient, but as I grow older these sorts of delays drive me to distraction . . .

[eelpie]

Mr. Young got back to me Thursday night, Mountain Time, to tell me the bracelet was finished and he was ready for payment. He also confirmed that the two extra links I'd provided had been fitted.

I duly paid via PayPal, and I requested the bracelet be forwarded to my watchmaker, who is finishing the service on my vintage Datejust 1601.

I'd like to think that the bracelet is already with the courier company . . .

[SPARTAN2161]

any updates? from OP

[eelpie]

. . . been returned to me insterad of being forwarded to my watchmaker as I requested.

Much of the slack is gone, and the bracelet looks very good from above (the 'show' side), but the centre gold links have definite marks on the wrist side.

Over-all it's acceptable, and even possibly a big improvement, but there should be a way to fit the gold centre links without marring them quite so badly . . .

[drbric]

Any news regarding this Michael Y.
I need my bracelet fixed so it would be nice to hear some positive info regarding him.

[Treetopflyer]

Any more news from OP? Curious to hear the explanation on the FS item.

[Paladin]

Originally Posted by eelpie

. . . been returned to me insterad of being forwarded to my watchmaker as I requested.

Much of the slack is gone, and the bracelet looks very good from above (the 'show' side), but the centre gold links have definite marks on the wrist side.

Over-all it's acceptable, and even possibly a big improvement, but there should be a way to fit the gold centre links without marring them quite so badly . . .

1) You should know That in paying by paypal he had to return the bracelet to the address on your paypal account or open himself up to liability.

2) For the $100 or $150 dollars he is charging for something no one else is doing and extending the life of your vintage Rolex bracelet, I don't think it's fair to expect " concierge" service sending your bracelet around to our other vendors. That's for you to do IMHO.

3) if you read his website he discusses the difficulties in taking these bracelets apart. Based on that read, I would be surprised if there were no tool marks of any kind s a result of having to PRY these things apart and then try and BEND/FOLD them back together.

4) I am getting my TT jubilee bracelet back tomorrow according to FedEx. I hope it will be tightened and serviceable. I do not expect it to look or be "new". I just bought a NEW TT oyster bracelet from the local Rolex AD for one of my watches that I wanted a new bracelet on.

5) I suggest that you never use Mr. Young again so don't have to go thru al this stress and angst. Halfway around the world, a difficult process to perform, a language barrier and yet another " craftsman" with a service in demand make Michael Young an experience you can't seem to tolerate.

6) any before and after pics as well as pics of those nasty marks on the underside of your links?

[eelpie]

I don't believe it's unusual to expect someone to respond to e-mail messages, whether they're in Hong Kong, Haiti or Harlem.

Someone who accepts money for their services is deemed a professional, and professionals don't ignore their customers' communiques.

And, no, I wouldn't send anything to Mr. Young again . . .

[Mickey®]

Originally Posted by eelpie

. . . been returned to me insterad of being forwarded to my watchmaker as I requested.

Much of the slack is gone, and the bracelet looks very good from above (the 'show' side), but the centre gold links have definite marks on the wrist side.

Over-all it's acceptable, and even possibly a big improvement, but there should be a way to fit the gold centre links without marring them quite so badly . . .

PLEASE post before and after pics!

[Paladin]

Just got my TT jubilee bracelet back from Mr. Young. I am very impressed and very happy with the result. I have permission from him to submit more bracelets for work and intend to send him two more.

See my read in the Vintage Forum here for more info and photos later today or tomorrow!

[drbric]

Originally Posted by Paladin

Just got my TT jubilee bracelet back from Mr. Young. I am very impressed and very happy with the result. I have permission from him to submit more bracelets for work and intend to send him two more.

See my read in the Vintage Forum here for more info and photos later today or tomorrow!

Any pictures up yet?
Hoping to se some.

[SPARTAN2161]

I recently sent my TT 1601 bracelet as well. I have before and after pics i will post once it is received. The before shows the stretch as well as "home engineered" restoration by previous owners. So this will defintely show MY's work. to be continued...

[xjeeunitx]

After reading this entire post, I still can't believe they are willing to use this guy after it's been thoroughly documented that he is lazy, unprofessional, and mischievous.

The OP is a bigger POS in my opinion. Wow.

[Z-Sub]

It makes me wonder the OP's intention of posting this thread and were the contents true or what?

[SPARTAN2161]

Pretty shady. I have a bracelet with MY right now. He has responded to ALL of my emails. Not at the speed of light but he is also 12 hours away with i am assuming tons of emails coming in each day. I will keep this thread updated. Currently he has received my package and put it into his "work production line"

[azguy]

Originally Posted by SPARTAN2161

I will keep this thread updated. Currently he has received my package and put it into his "work production line"

Please do !! I have a bracelet that could use some help

[RC2]

Does anyone know of a person other than Michael that can repair a loose rivet? It's not a bad stretch but can be tightened ? Thanks. Rich

[meznpez]

I have posted these pictures before.
Before I sent the bracelet I emailed him twice with questions and he replied within one or two days. After sending him my bracelet I gave him the time to do his work, fully aware that he has tons of work on his hand. I received an email when my bracelet was done, paid and received the band in the condition shown below.

Amazing! I can only recommend Michael to anyone with just a little "patience"...

Cheers Martin

Before:





And after:

[TerryREM]

Hello,

I am just wondering if anyone on this forum has used Priority Mail International to send their bands to be restored to Michael Young in Hong Kong? I am still waiting for a response from USPS - I mailed my watch band on February 27, 2012 from Texas and it left Chicago International Sorting Center on March 8th, 2012. The message says my item is on its way to the destination. Michael hasn't received it yet and I have no reason to doubt him. I think USPS lost the package or its stuck in customs. Has anyone else ever experienced such a long delay in getting their package to Hong Kong?
Thanks.

[SPARTAN2161]

How much did you insure it for? Sometimes depending on the insurance it may take longer because of how things are inspected and such. It took about a week for me and then a couple days before Michael picked it up. Theres a good chance it may be stuck in customs but not lost. Try calling USPS and they can usually find out why theres a hold up. Good luck!

[nyyankees]

And it got to him in a week.

[eag310]

Originally Posted by Paladin

1) You should know That in paying by paypal he had to return the bracelet to the address on your paypal account or open himself up to liability.

2) For the $100 or $150 dollars he is charging for something no one else is doing and extending the life of your vintage Rolex bracelet, I don't think it's fair to expect " concierge" service sending your bracelet around to our other vendors. That's for you to do IMHO.

3) if you read his website he discusses the difficulties in taking these bracelets apart. Based on that read, I would be surprised if there were no tool marks of any kind s a result of having to PRY these things apart and then try and BEND/FOLD them back together.

4) I am getting my TT jubilee bracelet back tomorrow according to FedEx. I hope it will be tightened and serviceable. I do not expect it to look or be "new". I just bought a NEW TT oyster bracelet from the local Rolex AD for one of my watches that I wanted a new bracelet on.

5) I suggest that you never use Mr. Young again so don't have to go thru al this stress and angst. Halfway around the world, a difficult process to perform, a language barrier and yet another " craftsman" with a service in demand make Michael Young an experience you can't seem to tolerate.

6) any before and after pics as well as pics of those nasty marks on the underside of your links?

x2
While I don't believe I have ever utilize his services before I've seen first hand the tedious process of rebuilding the bracelets from both ss and 2tone jubilee, oyster, and gold president Rolex bracelets.
I'm very happy with my local source even if I have to pay a bit more than $100-$150. I don't expect the bracelet to be in pristine and brand new condition when rebuilding a bracelet, for that, I would just buy a brand new one from Rolex.

[TerryREM]

I valued the watch band at $250.00. I did recieve an email response from USPS and they said that foreign postal services are not obligated to utilize USPS tracking information so they are unable to locate it once it leaves the United States.

Here is the quoted reply "Priority Mail International Flat Rate Envelopes and Priority Mail International Small Flat Rate priced boxes do not provide tracking, tracing, or inquiries as part of the service, and foreign posts are not required to capture the scans.
Please keep in mind that Priority Mail International Flat Rate Envelopes and Small Flat Rate Boxes offer an affordable mailing option, based on negotiated terms with over 190 countries.
For future reference, if you need to track your International Mail please consider using our Global Express Guaranteed or Express Mail International services. Delivery information is available to most countries for C-series custom label numbers.

Michael Young gave me a PO Box - I should have requested a physical location and used FedEx.

I will keep the forum update if my watch band is ever found.

[drbric]

I sent my bracelet to MY and it should be close to delivery. 12 weeks and counting. He has responded that there is some delay in production, normally 8-10 weeks.
Will post my experience.

[joeychitwood]

Is refurbishing a bracelet so difficult that only one person in the world can reliably do it? Is the pay rate for such a repair too low for others to take up the job? If not, it seems like a niche occupation waiting to be filled in North America. Hmmmm, I've been thinking of early retirement from medicine.....

[DoxaDavid]

I sent MY my fathers YG DayDate Bracelet which is 25 years old and needed work in early Sept 2011. Michael quoted $850 and said it would take 10 weeks. I emailed him around 8 weeks and it did take a couple days but he responded it was almost done. I emailed again at 12 weeks and he replied a day later he had just shipped it back to my dad. Came back looking like new so while I am sorry the OP had issues, my limited experience with him has been good and his work was great so do with this information as you may but I would send him my work again.

On a similar note, a few years ago I sent my Omega into their factory service center for a routine maintainence which I was quoted to take 6-8 weeks. 6 months later I finally got my watch back and from what I have read about other brands service centers, they all over promise on delivery times and under deliver so from now on, I take whatever I am told and add 50% to the estimate turnaround time. Ugghh!

[smartmind]

wait and see the final outcome, hope the bracelet for replacement will satisefy you.

[BiteEmnBeatEm]

Michael young did a two tone jubilee for me and I was worried because it did take long and replies were not quick but once he sent me my bracelet I couldn't believe how great it turned out. My reason for sweating bricks was I sent in two bracelets one men's and woman's bracelet. But I would not hesitate to use him again.

[TerryREM]

My shipment finally cleared customs.
I will never use USPS Priority International again. I mailed my watch to Michael on February 27, 2012. It departed Chicago's International Sorting on March 8, 2012. It was released from customs on April 2,2012 in Hong Kong. While, I don't blame USPS for the delay in customs, I do believe that Fedex would have probably cleared customs much sooner.
Michael Young has actually been quite helpful through this ordeal and has responded very quickly to my emails.