Why you shouldn’t engrave a watch (unless you’re Marlon Brando)

I’m buying my husband a Swiss watch for his 50th birthday. Should I get it engraved?

It really depends on whether you’re a romantic or a pragmatist. Personalising a watch’s caseback with an engraving adds an instant, touching layer of emotional depth. A watch is already a fairly intimate object worn next to naked skin; adding a heartfelt engraving can make it all the more special … Particularly if you manage to spell the words right.

The flipside is that a well-chosen Swiss watch can retain, or even increase, its value over time. Hopefully, your husband doesn’t want to flog your thoughtful gift straight away, but one day you might want or, heaven forbid, need to sell it. Plus, timepieces are touted as future heirlooms for a reason. Years from now, one of your children (or grandkids) may opt to cash in and an engraving will probably dent their resale value. That’s because collectors invariably prefer to buy watches in mint condition, while buyers who want to create their own memories with a watch and an engraving that nods to, say, that magical weekend in Paris, won’t appreciate the loin-stirring words you’ve dedicated to your husband.

The exception, of course, is if either one of you happens to be an international celebrity, in which case an engraving can transform a watch’s value. On the set of Apocalypse Now, for example, Marlon Brando carved his name into the back of his Rolex with all the care of a six-year-old armed with a school compass. Despite the fact the watch was also missing its bezel, it sold at a 2023 auction for 4,582,500 Swiss francs (about $8.1 million). “Fame,” as Emily Dickinson noted, “is a fickle food upon a shifting plate.” But it certainly helps to sell second-hand watches.

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