a note on michael young bracelet refurbs...

[seizure]

this post is not to put blame on anyone.

i received a week ago my third bracelet michael young has refurbished for me.

this particular bracelet, i mailed to him only the two bracelet "halves" - without end links, clasps or spare links.

in a note to him, i left instructions not to polish the bracelet as one half has already been overly polished. the job was simply to replace the bars/tighten the links.

it would appear a polish by michael is essential in removing most of the gouges and dimples left behind by his tool used to break each link apart. marks were left on both sides of the bracelet.

this appears to confirm that the minor indentations left behind on my previous 2 bracelets were not from bad memory that the bracelet must have indeed been worn into a much poorer condition than i recalled... but from his tool.

the previous bracelets were returned to me polished and i guess seeing the slack taken out must have lessened or replaced the confusion i had.

i can't say i'm pleased with the result (the gouges scratches my wrist a lil), but it would not be fair to say this is michael young's fault as this is simply a byproduct of the process. whether it can be redesigned to be avoidable, i'm unsure.

my point is: if you're sending a bracelet to him, you should be prepared to have it polished by him or you will almost certainly be as disappointed by the results as i am upon ripping open the envelope. for this bracelet, i should have just continued to use it.

these are the best photos i could take... it looks way worse in real life.

[JP Chestnut]

He most likely knocks the links apart using a small chisel. I've seen a number of people do this when they break a permanent link off my bracelet. The deformation is identical.

I've seen mostly good reviews of his work, but I've definitely seen some bad ones as well.

[outtatime]

I had a Jubilee bracelet I almost sent to him a few years ago. I chickened out when I was told to basically send the bracelet with $$, I wouldn't hear anything for 3-4 months and then it would eventually just come back to me with no notice or anything.

I know he's busy, but I need a little more than that.

[bzabodyn]

I didn't send him a dollar until mine was done. To me, if you're going to go the length of getting the bracelet links tightened the "original" aspect of not polishing it is somewhat out the window. All or nothing.

BZ

[2ar2c1]

He most likely knocks the links apart using a small chisel.

actually, he made a simple tool that uses jaws to slowly pull the link apart. then a similar tool forces the link back together after the pin has been repaired. these are his pics from an explanatory thread on trf.
the jubilee is in the process of being reassembled, the oyster is being pulled apart.

[CesarG]

He most likely knocks the links apart using a small chisel.

actually, he made a simple tool that uses jaws to slowly pull the link apart. then a similar tool forces the link back together after the pin has been repaired. these are his pics from an explanatory thread on trf.
the jubilee is in the process of being reassembled, the oyster is being pulled apart.

That Jaw ends up looking like a chisel.

[drster]

Or you can buy a new bracelet. The guy is doing a service that the bracelet was not designed for. Why would you not want it refinished afterwards? It's a bracelet, an old beat up bracelet. Let him do his thing and then refinish it. Yes it will look refinished if you look close. You can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear.

[seizure]

as mentioned earlier, i requested he not polish this bracelet as one half has already been polished very very badly and cannot take another round of polishing (very thin in some areas).

if i had known the bracelet would be returned in such a state, bearing in mind my previous 2 bracelets returned from his shop looking in "more or less" good condition, i would have probably told him to polish the insides at least.

thus let this be a cautionary tale to others on DWC that may be considering michael's services...

[Mark020]

MY has done 5+ bracelets for me and yes his communication is limited but I've never been disappointed about his work.

[matt.wu]

I didn't send him a dollar until mine was done. To me, if you're going to go the length of getting the bracelet links tightened the "original" aspect of not polishing it is somewhat out the window. All or nothing.

BZ

This has been a good summary of my feeling too. MY did two jubilees for friends of mine and it was solid work - and cheaper than buying new bracelets by a long shot.

[93 Turbo]

I didn't send him a dollar until mine was done. To me, if you're going to go the length of getting the bracelet links tightened the "original" aspect of not polishing it is somewhat out the window. All or nothing.

BZ

This has been a good summary of my feeling too. MY did two jubilees for friends of mine and it was solid work - and cheaper than buying new bracelets by a long shot.

+2 Matt, I've been meaning to send that 93150 I got from you for my 79090 too MY, I'll get around it soon. I'll leave it to MY to do what he thinks is best. J

[dnslater]

as mentioned earlier, i requested he not polish this bracelet as one half has already been polished very very badly and cannot take another round of polishing (very thin in some areas).

if i had known the bracelet would be returned in such a state, bearing in mind my previous 2 bracelets returned from his shop looking in "more or less" good condition, i would have probably told him to polish the insides at least.

thus let this be a cautionary tale to others on DWC that may be considering michael's services...

I suspect he needs to polish it because of minor abuse it takes when separating the links?

[Joeprez]

as mentioned earlier, i requested he not polish this bracelet as one half has already been polished very very badly and cannot take another round of polishing (very thin in some areas).

if i had known the bracelet would be returned in such a state, bearing in mind my previous 2 bracelets returned from his shop looking in "more or less" good condition, i would have probably told him to polish the insides at least.

thus let this be a cautionary tale to others on DWC that may be considering michael's services...

I suspect he needs to polish it because of minor abuse it takes when separating the links?

This

[JBZ]

as mentioned earlier, i requested he not polish this bracelet as one half has already been polished very very badly and cannot take another round of polishing (very thin in some areas).

if i had known the bracelet would be returned in such a state, bearing in mind my previous 2 bracelets returned from his shop looking in "more or less" good condition, i would have probably told him to polish the insides at least.

thus let this be a cautionary tale to others on DWC that may be considering michael's services...

How do you know it couldn't take another round of polishing? Did you ask him what he thought?

Also, you say you're not blaming him, but then blame the process he uses. Seems like kind of the same thing to me.

[JP Chestnut]

Here's the thing about MY: last time I checked he charged around $200, and he's providing a service nobody else does. To expect that service at that price with zero compromises lacks all reason. With that said, I would request he not polish my bracelet were I to send one in. I'd much rather pay another fee and have someone like ABC polish it.

[giosdad]

I was thinking of sending a riveted bracelet to MY. What is "the process" of sending one in to him?