UNDONE has become one of the world’s leading custom watch labels over the five years since it was founded in 2014 by a team of dedicated watch industry veterans. The mission of the company is make unique personalised watches for every taste at affordable prices without sacrificing quality. As the company’s founder, Michael Young (pictured top), describes to WatchPro, the definition of luxury in our modern society has been twisted to be equated with spending power for expensive watches rather than what he sees as the essential point of luxury, which is the power and freedom of the individual.
WatchPro: When was UNDONE established and what made it come about?
Michael Young: It all started in a pub, back in 2014. A friend and I were discussing why the watch industry was so rigid in what it offered, when one could easily purchase a car with such a vast variety of customisable interior and exterior elements.
Prior to that, I repaired luxury watches and was a supplier to many watch brands, supplying parts and services to companies that modified Rolexes — namely dials, hands, and case coatings — which were sold at multiple times the retail price of standard watches.
The “ah ha!” moment over a couple of drinks was: what if a new company could offer similar services over a website that allows customer personalisation, but on a more affordable level? And that’s how UNDONE was born.
WatchPro: What is unique about UNDONE?
Michael Young: To be honest, UNDONE is a very vertically integrated company. Almost everything, from watch design to assembly, marketing, photography, website design and product delivery, are all done under one roof. This increases efficiency, and shortens development and launch lifecycles. Because UNDONE can also print dials in-house, custom designs can be made with only one piece as a minimum order, and the watch can be delivered just days after design sign-off.
I’m an avid watch collector myself, and love to get fully involved with all aspects of the company; my goal is to deliver a well-balanced offering of personalisation, design and quality within the price segment.
WatchPro: Which countries represent the biggest markets for the brand?
Michael Young: Currently, USA, UK, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand. However, we have a lot of business interests from France, Germany, and Italy — they’re in our plans for next year.
WatchPro: What plans do you have for the US and UK markets?
Michael Young: Since the US and UK are our biggest markets, all our marketing is focused there. The brand will continue to innovate and grow online, and we are now looking to establish ourselves with a select few distributors in these two markets who align with our vision.
WatchPro: Looking 12 months from now, what would qualify as success in your eyes?
Michael Young: We’ve had very good growth since the brand launch, and we’ve had great support from the watch community. We’ll be very pleased if, in a year, we can expand this success into a wider lifestyle community with the same amount of recognition that we have in the watch industry.
