Yuri’s Watches

Although i didn’t end up doing my repair i had to write this review because the lady who works there was extremely nice, the price she gave me was reasonable and their service seems to be prompt and fast. (Around 40 $ for a bracelet gold-​plating in 3 days!) She also was kind enough to suggest another jeweler since i was in a hurry.
They also have a nice collection of jewlery thats worth checking out.

I came to Yuri with a complex watch problem. The keyless works needed to be replaced and he did it extremely quickly. I didn’t even have to leave! I watched him work on my watch for about 20 minutes and presto! Good as new.
He charged be $ 80 for the repair, which I though was fair considering it was a complex fix and he had to disassemble the watch. He even took the watch apart again after I noticed some dust and thoroughly cleaned it. Even though he is not much of a talker, he is extremely efficient.
The cherry on top was that while I waited for my watch, I was able to see some very nice pieces Yuri had on display at his store like Omegas and Rolex. I will definitely be back if I ever have watch problems.

Came here after reading good reviews on Unilocal.I must say that the reviews are all correct. Not the friendliest old uncle, but he knows what’s up and will take care of your watch issues in a breeze. And, his rates are not outrageous unlike other jewelry shops. Highly recommended!

They’ve got a decent collection of vintage watches. There’s a 1969 Omega Moonwatch at a very fair price that is really tempting me.
One star off only because of clutter– merchandising could use some work, but no biggie!

Replaced the battery in my watch before I could blink. Very fast service (less than 10 minutes) and fairly priced.

Update: Read Yuri’s response. minus a star for rude, condescending remarks.
——
Original review:
Went in with hopes of having a screw-​in watch pin ($ 2.50 retail for replacement part) replaced for under $ 10. He wanted $ 15. I asked him if he was willing to come down on the price at all. He looked at me like I was crazy and said no.
It’s a 30-​second job, so if I buy the part at retail price, I’m paying him a labor rate $ 1,500/hour to screw in a pin. Heck, throw in the cost of a professional watch repair tool, which I just found on Google for $ 1.94, and we’re still not at $ 5.
I get that you’re allowed to be overpriced because it’s Newbury Street. But that’s triple what I got charged last fall at a shop in the suburbs.
Even if you charge me Newbury Street rent prices for the 60 seconds I’m there, we’re still not anywhere near $ 15 (even a $ 10k per month rent works out to about $ 0.20 per minute.)
I went there because I was impatient and didn’t feel like waiting for the part to arrive in the mail. Long story short, wasn’t worth my time or money. I ended up ordering the part from Citizen & a watch tool. Did it myself.
I went with 2-​stars because Meh, I’ve experienced better.

Walked in with watch that needed battery
Five minutes later
Walked out with watch with new battery
5 stars

I took my watch there to be authenticated. Yuri did it for free.

It seemed like Yuri replaced my battery ($ 15) in the same amount of time it is taking you to read my review of his services.
5 stars.

Took another watch in my collection to Yuri today and again, the service was superb. He quickly looked at the watch, fixed the problem with the movement in about 30-​minutes and I was ready to go. Again, great service for a great price.

Once again, a successful and fairly priced service on a watch. A+ experience for the second time. Before you send your watch in to the manufacturer for a really expensive service, bring it to Yuri to assess the issue.

Wham, bam, thank you ma’am… and in a great way. Love a man that just G.S.D., a professional & lifelong expert, says few words and has you leaving a very satisfied woman. Battery replaced, and the fact that it was a luxury watch didn’t matter. Same $ 15. Will come again.

I’ve brought two watches to Yuri for repair as of this writing. Both were repaired well and are working fine:
1 — Komandirskie (Soviet manual-​wind watch from the 80’s) This wasn’t running unless I advanced the regulator way too much. I brought it in, and he had it fully disassembled, cleaned, oiled, and reassembled in a couple of hours. Perfect amount of time to run out for a nice lunch. Cost was about $ 100, which he advised me might not be worth it versus the cost of the watch itself. I wanted the repair anyway, and he obliged. I was also able to choose a new band which was far superior to the original rubber one. Added a little cost, but to have such one-​stop shopping is great.
2 — Seiko 7A28−7029 A much more complicated watch, which my parents were told couldn’t be fixed (they went to a cheap mall watch repair place). I took it to Yuri, and it ended up needing the same disassemble/​clean/​oil job as the Komandirskie. Again I was warned about the cost of the repair versus the value of the watch. This being an heirloom (grandfather’s watch I was repairing for my Dad for Father’s Day) I went ahead with the repair. It was dropped off Saturday and ready Monday. All functions now work and it will make my Dad very happy.
Yuri warrantees his work for one year. And it’s good to know that he’ll work on anything from cheap to high-​end.

Came in here on Tuesday afternoon to get my watch battery replaced (watch was not purchased from here). He replaced it in like a minute, and it cost $ 15, which is pretty standard. Super efficient!
Oh, and he also adjusted the time after replacing the battery!

Yuri might be good for changing batteries and adjusting watch bands, but in my opinion is not a master watch maker. As an analogy, he is good at changing oil and wiper blades on a Corolla, but I wouldn’t bring him my Lexus for engine work.
I brought in my $ 5k Tag (Yea, I know Tags s_​_​k, but that’s a different story) to Yuri because it was running fast. He told me no problem, he can fix it. He adjusted something and charged me $ 75. A week later I found the watch was still running fast, so I brought it back to him. He then told me that the watch needed an overhaul. Why didn’t he tell me that the first time he tried adjusting it and charged me $ 75. I asked if he can deduct the $ 75 off the overhaul cost and he replied «No, he did his best the first time.»
So just wanting an accurate running watch again, I told him to go ahead and do the overhaul. Paid him $ 375, so a total of $ 475. After the overhaul, THE WATCH WAS STILL RUNNING FAST. A minute per day. Part of overhauling was calibrating, especially since I told Yuri I wanted the watch to be within COSC specs. Did he even time the watch before giving it back to me?
I took the watch back to him and he adjusted something and gave it back to me. A week later the watch WAS STILL RUNNING FAST. I took the watch back to him a total of three times and he was not able to adjust it to even within 20 seconds per day. 20 seconds might be OK for a run of the mill automatic, but not a COSC Swiss watch. Finally I gave up and now I am out $ 475.
Not only that, but now I find the watch doesn’t even hack properly. When you pull the crown all the way out to stop the seconds hand, the hand will start moving again when you tap the watch even slightly. And no, the watch was not a 20 or 30 year old watch. It was less than three years old and since it was no longer covered under Tag’s worthless warranty and since I didn’t want to spend $ 500 for an authorized service repair, which was what I paid ultimately, I brought it to Yuri.
Yuri — good for changing watch batteries, but I wouldn’t trust him for REAL repair work.

Had watch resized. Took 5 minutes and looked great and was only 10 $. Will definitely recommend

Bought a Steel Band for my Moto 360. Took it to Yury, he fitted it in a matter of few seconds and it costed just $ 10.

HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE
I called Yuri to check authenticity of this watch My girlfriend purchased. He said, «if it’s not too much trouble, it won’t cost you.» When I went in to his store he looked at the watch and said $ 20 for the appraisal. I agreed. He popped opened the back of watch with something that looked like pliers and took LESS THAN A SECOND to do. He barely examines the watch and tells it authentic. THATS IT!!! $ 20!!! RIDICULOUS!
I asked to punch an extra hole into the leather band. He didn’t look to even line it properly. I had to scream to tell him to «STOP»! Then he realigned it and punch through the band. The final result was one hole, that was 1 mm off the series in band, and deep tear made from the first time he hole he tried to punch into the band. This wouldn’t have happened if he was careful and NOT THIS SLOPPY. This is IRREPLACEABLE Hermes studded BAND.
When I got home, my girlfriend was VERY UPSET. She examined the band and saw that there were a few deep scratches in the back of the watch where Yuri popped the back part open. SCRATCHES FROM JUST OPENING THE BACK UP. And there is an additional dent on the edge of the watch.
He is NOT PROFESSIONAL. He shouldn’t go near any fine watches. My girlfriend is upset and it has made my life miserable. I wish I had never gone to this store. DONT GO HERE. Don’t be cheap and waste your money here. YOU WILL REGRET IT. If I could give negative stars on the rating I would.

I don’t know much about watches, but my review is in regards to customer service. After showing up twice during open hours to find Yuri was not there, I finally caught him coming back from his lunch break. He was uninterested, barely said anything, and didn’t even take out his headphones to speak to me. He waved my broken watch off and said «at least $ 160». I had to pry for an explanation of what was to be done and whether there were any other options. It was clear he didn’t want to work on my watch. Overall major lack of professionalism, perhaps these reviews raised my expectations too high.

Imagine a stock car pit crew that specializes in fixing watches… You are imagining Yuri’s fingers.
Walked in to get a band repair (only $ 10)…walked out of the store in less than 60 seconds. I honestly wish I would’ve timed the whole process (transaction included).
You can’t beat that kind of efficiency.