The unofficial Rolex Band Restoration Manual

[GTS Dean]

Michael,

On steel/gold bracelets, do you normally encounter significantly more wear on the gold links than the stainless pins? I would assume fairly balanced wear on all stainless or all gold bracelet components.

[Frogman4me]

Thank you Michael! Welcome to TRF :)

[drockadam]

Welcome Michael,

Your work is absolutely incredible, a true life saver to Rolex owners.

[crowncollection]

Great info welcome to trf

[classicwatchparts]

As promised this is Chapter 2 of the band restoration manual

Today we continue on the modern day solid links jubilee band since we are on the same machine as yesterday.


See Pic 1. Essentially same machine, but the black gripping claws are changed. The Jub links have a different curvature to the oyster links so a special set is machined. There is only a small gap beteeen the 2 center links of a jubilee band and this is where we insert the tool to pull it open.



Pic 2 Shows the process of turning the knob that slowly expand the 2 claws.


Pic 3 Shows the first link openened.

Now the work starts.

Essentially when you look at Pic 4. It shows the 2 pins of a Jub link. On the right is the untouched pin, as you can see the 3 center links grinding on it leaving grooves on the pin. As we are to preserve as much original parts as possible we will not replace the pins unless absolutely required.

For this particular band it is not so bad, so a metal sleeve/tube is inserted on the left hand pin to renforce it and to also make it thicker so it will reduce the gap between links when we reassemble the link. Repaeat this process 20 times and you are done for one Jubilee Band. Then it goes thru the polishing wheel and nylon wheel for the satin finish.


No so difficult right?

Just FYI with my slow fingers for this demo, it took me roughly 20 mins to disassemble this link and put it back.







Preview:

In the next couple of chapters I will go through the restoration of a Folded link and a Rivet link band. Both from a restoration technique point of view are essentially the same.

Stay tuned

[classicwatchparts]

Originally Posted by GTS Dean

Michael,

On steel/gold bracelets, do you normally encounter significantly more wear on the gold links than the stainless pins? I would assume fairly balanced wear on all stainless or all gold bracelet components.

You are correct, the wear on gold links are significantly more than on steel ones, the worst ones are 2 tone jubilee bands. I have one that is sent in with pins literally thinner than a piece of hair, imagine what a tough time it had endured. The only way to restore this is to find a set of links from a steel Jub band and then transfer it over keeping the gold links , clasp and ends.

So be sure not to send it in too late, I am just a magician and not god, so I cannot really reverse wear.

[vkychoo]

Very interesting how these are assembled and disassembled. Thank you for sharing!

[classicwatchparts]

In case you are interested in where I work, here are some photos of our new service center in Hong Kong.


We also do full watch restorations and servicing; with the proper watch tools: Bergeon tools, Wistchi Watch analysers, Rolex case opening tools, Rolex pressure testers etc...


So any folks in Hong Kong or drop by Hong Kong can come here and have a chat.

[vkychoo]

very nice!

[Kobin]

Wonderful thread, great! Many thanks for sharing.

[1675-David]

excellent!!

[oinkitt]

Oh... if you could only do "beads of rice" bands!!!!

[classicwatchparts]

Yes we can do bead rice Gay Feres bands as well, we 've done a few over the years.

[theloxmyth]

Thank you and welcome.

[jedly1]

'' I am just a magician and not god ''


damn , thats a shame :(....hey mike, welcome :)

[classicwatchparts]

Thanks buddies for all the great comments, very encouraging

I can only reward with more eye candy photos, showing as much behind the scenes as possible

[Mahamaya]

Thank you so much for the fantastic and very speedy job executed on my 16660 bracelet

Many thanks

[Czechman]

Michael,

Would you agree that wearing your watch loose around your wrist and periodic cleaning (ultrasonic) will greatly extend the life of your bracelet? Seems the real culprit is fine grit getting into the links and acting as an abrasive which grinds down the parts and wearing your watch tight only increases the wear.

Woody





.

[classicwatchparts]

Its a difficult question to answer. It really depneds at which state your band is.

When the links are tight then wearing it tight increases the friction on the pins.

But when the links are already loose the if you wear it loose then the links are laterally grinding off each other and the corners of the center links have the corners grind off and that's worst than pin wear becasue I cannot economically repair those damages.

Physically yes I can laser solder every center link and repolish them, but then financially only the 18k bands are worth doing, so this is what we generally do.


So the trick is to get bands restored when they are moderately loose and not wait till the links are worn beyond repair.

A band should be able to withstand 2 band restorations before the end of life.

[Mickey®]

Originally Posted by classicwatchparts

Many dealers including the RSC and AD swears by that used Rolex bands cannot be fixed or restored.

However that is not true and many members of this forum knows of the band restoration service for quite some time.

Becasue my other business in watch packaging has taken up so much of my time I have not be able to join these forums for the last few years. My apologies. Sometimes this silence is good when I see negative comments, some white knights will come to save my burning reputation.

Much better than for me to try to explain the situation. Kudos for all who helped to keep this business alive, at some point of time I was considering killing it off because of the negativeness of some members. But decided to go on since I go so much support once this news broke out. Plus I needed to use my own services for my new aquisitions, that is the other part of the story

Back to the topic

Just wanted to get some facts straight and demystify the whole band restoration process.


Myth #1
Sometimes they will say that all the links are changed to new ones and only the buckle and end links are saved. Not true. They are all saved. Except sometimes for broken links, we usually help to find good used original links for replacement.


More of those later if interest level is high.....




OK photos of the day

Drum Rolls .........



See Band1 pic. This is the black box. This is the small version of our machines to break open this 93150 first link.


Band 2 shows that the link has been gripped by the 2 black claws and by pulling in opposite directions the links slowly breaks open.


Band 3 shows the inners of the link, 3 pins for each link for both solid oyster and jubilee bands. The 1st and 3rd pin is load bearing and usually is where the wear is most.

The looseness is not the center piece of the link stretching, it mainly comes from the inner pins wearing the center link becasue it is hollow. After thousands of times of grinding the pins becomes thinner and the link wears thinner at the inner exteremes. Worst cases is that there is too much slack and the links starts to move, then it grinds into the corners of the center link. So in very worn bands you will see the center links with chamfered corners.

Our job is to first put a metal sleeve or tube over the existing pin, depending on wear we have different thickness of sleeves. After the correct ones can be identified then the link is put back in place by the same machine going the the other direction as before to force back the 3 pins into its home.


To be continued....

Wow. Always wondered.

[gpfps]

Thanks Mr Young for giving us more info on how you do the great work you do.Before I send my Prez to you I have one question. With a 18k band, are the parts you replace all 18k gold ?

[masterserg]

Fantastic! I've seen some pictures of your work and it is a work of art ... and love I guess!

[Kingair]

Thanks for the pics Michael

HAGWe

[Johny]

a very interesting thread michael. thank you.

[classicwatchparts]

Originally Posted by gpfps

Thanks Mr Young for giving us more info on how you do the great work you do.Before I send my Prez to you I have one question. With a 18k band, are the parts you replace all 18k gold ?

Yes the replacements are also 18K gold

[Michael M.]

So when you restore a rivet 20mm what parts do you replace??

[lsavoldi]

Michael is a fine gentleman and does a awesome work
He restored a 9315 bracelet that was pure garbage.
I got it back in pristine condition.
Highly recommend him to any forumite
Luciano

[classicwatchparts]

Originally Posted by Michael M.

So when you restore a rivet 20mm what parts do you replace??

Really nothing , just rebending the center links with the curvature bent back in, except sometimes we put small pieces of metal sleeves within the link.

Hold your breath till I go onto Chapeter 3 of this Thread, I will go in details on how it is done.

[Michael M.]

Originally Posted by classicwatchparts

Really nothing , just rebending the center links with the curvature bent back in, except sometimes we put small pieces of metal sleeves within the link.

Hold your breath till I go onto Chapeter 3 of this Thread, I will go in details on how it is done.

How much does this cost??

[77T]

Excellent thread...one worth bookmarking for future chapters.

And refer the doubters to read so they may see the stuff of what really causes "stretch".