Receiving gifts is awesome but handing them to others is just on a whole different level. If an important event in the life of a person you care about is coming and you think that a watch is a great gift idea, then you’re absolutely right.
But since probably everyone and their brother is thinking the same, you’d like yours to be a standout. In this case, personalization is a must. If you are bereft of ideas of what to engrave on a watch, I’m here to help. This list of more than 80 watch engraving ideas will definitely give you some food for thought!
Apart from making your gift unique, an engraved message on a watch will also stand the test of time. Let’s not kid ourselves, if somebody asks us who gave us this particular gift to tens of others in 10 years time, we might struggle to come up with an answer. Unless, of course, it includes an engraved message that we can easily link to someone.
Because of the different kinds of people and occasions on which we hand out gifts, I have grouped the ideas into 5 different sections. I have also taken into consideration the limited space on a watch case back so most of the quotes will be rather short but very telling.
Also, if you have already decided that you want to gift someone a watch, being able to differentiate between different types of watch clasps and movements can boost your chances of making the best decision possible.
Life Event Watch Engraving Ideas
Is the birthday of your BAE coming up and you have no idea what to write on an engraved watch? Or maybe, your beloved kid has just passed his final exam and you are looking for watch engraving ideas for son’s graduation? This list should shed some light on both, and more.
Anniversary
- “Grow old with me, the best is yet to be.” – Robert Browning.
- “Love grows more tremendously full, swift, poignant, as the years, multiply.” – Zane Grey.
Award
- “There are some games you don’t get to play unless you are all in.” – Jordan B. Peterson.
- “Small daily improvements over time lead to stunning results.” – Robin Sharma
Birth
- “In giving birth to our babies, we may find that we give birth to new possibilities within ourselves.” – Myla & Jon Kabat-Zinn.
- “There is such a special sweetness in being able to participate in creation.” – Pamela S. Nadav.
Birthday
- “Count your life by smiles, not tears. Count your age by friends, not years. Happy birthday!” – John Lennon.
- “A birthdate is a reminder to celebrate the life as well as to update the life.” – Amit Kalantri.
Engagement
- “Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love.” – Albert Einstein.
- “You are the butter to my bread, and the breath to my life.” – Julia Child.
Graduation
- “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin.
- “Instruction ends in the schoolroom, but education ends only with life.” -Frederick W. Robertson
Promotion
- “You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.” – Oprah Winfrey.
- “People don’t get promoted for doing their jobs really well. They get promoted by demonstrating their potential to do more.” – Tara Jaye Frank.
Retirement
- “The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off.” – Abe Lemons.
- “Retirement is a blank sheet of paper. It is a chance to redesign your life into something new and different.” – Patrick Foley.
Wedding
- “When the darkness rolls in, I’ll be there through thick and thin.” – Hilary Duff.
- “To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die.” – The Smiths.
What to Engrave on a Watch for a Family Member?
Do you want to show your mother what she means to you? Or how much you appreciate the support of your sometimes-annoying sibling? Apart from short engraving quotes for mom and siblings, this list includes examples of cool quotes you can use on a gift for any family member, including watch engraving ideas for dad, short engraving quotes for daughter and more.
Mother
- “Mother is a verb. It’s something you do. Not just who you are.” – Dorothy Canfield Fisher.
- “A mother’s love endures through all.” – Washington Irving.
Father
- “A father is a man who expects his son to be as good a man as he meant to be.” – Frank A. Clark.
- “To her, the name of father was another name for love.” —Fanny Fern.
Daughter
- “Daughter is a treasure and a cause of sleeplessness.” – Ben Sirach.
- “A daughter may outgrow your lap, but she will never outgrow your heart.” – Unknown.
Son
- “Happy is the son whose faith in his mother remains unchallenged.” – Louisa May Alcott.
- “It is not flesh and blood, but the heart which makes us fathers and sons.” Friedrich von Schiller.
Sister
- “Having a sister is like having a best friend you can’t get rid of.” —Amy Li.
- “Of two sisters one is always the watcher, one the dancer.” —Louise Glück.
Brother
- “There is no love like the love for a brother. There is no love like the love of a brother.” – Astrid Alauda.
- “Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero.” – Marc Brown.
Grandmother
- “A grandmother is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a little bit best friend.” – Rachel Appleton.
- “Grandmothers always have time to talk and make you feel special.” – Catherine Pulsifer.
Grandfather
- “Every generation revolts against its fathers and makes friends with its grandfathers.” – Lewis Mumford.
- “A child’s eyes light up when they see their Grandpa.” – Catherine Pulsifer.
Grandchildren
- “Grandchildren are God’s way of compensating us for growing old.” – Mary H. Waldrip.
- “Grandkids are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation.” – Lois Wyse.
Quote Ideas to Engrave For a Significant Other
For whatever reason, expressing our feelings to that special someone can be uncomfortable at times. Whether you’re an old-school wife reading this and wondering what to engrave on a pocket watch for a husband or a caring boyfriend looking for that one smart idea to emphasize the love for your new girlfriend, I’ve got you covered. As well as clearing up what to engrave on a watch for a husband, and including watch engraving ideas for a boyfriend, the list also covers short engraving quotes for friends and more.
Husband
- “Your love shines in my heart as the sun that shines upon the earth.” – Eleanor Di Guillo.
- “Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.” – James Baldwin
Wife
- “Loved you yesterday, love you still, always have, always will.” – Elaine Davis.
- “I married my best friend that happens to be a girl.” – Kevin Gates.
Boyfriend
- “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same” – Emily Brontë.
- “The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.” – Morrie Schwartz.
Girlfriend
- “I am catastrophically in love with you.” – Cassandra Clare.
- “Love is a friendship set to music.” — Joseph Campbell.
Best Friend
- “My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.” – Henry Ford.
- “A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” – Walter Winchell.
Quotes To Engrave On A Watch By Profession
If you want to hand out a gift to your caring doctor and are wondering what to engrave on the back of a watch, wonder no more. This list consists of many cool quotes you can use depending on the gift recipient’s profession.
Actor
- “That’s what makes acting so attractive. You get to break all your own rules.” – Gerardine Clark.
- “Acting is behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances.” – Sanford Meisner.
Dentist
- “I told my dentist my teeth are going yellow. He told me to wear a brown tie.” —Rodney Dangerfield.
- “I’m a dentist. And what’s your superpower?” – Unknown.
Doctor
- “People pay the doctor for his trouble; for his kindness, they still remain in his debt.” – Seneca.
- “Medicines cure diseases, but only doctors can cure patients.” – Carl Jung.
Firefighter
- “Firefighters are indispensable foot soldiers here at home.” – Christopher Dodd.
- “The funny thing about firemen is, night and day, they are always firemen.” – Gregory Widen.
Musician
- “Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent” – Victor Hugo.
- “Where words leave off, music begins.” Heinrich Heine
Military
- “If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
- “The Army is the true nobility of our country.” – Napoleon Bonaparte.
Nurse
- “Save one life, you’re a hero. Save 100 lives, you’re a nurse.” – Unknown.
- “Caring is the essence of nursing.” – Jean Watson.
Lawyer
- “Don’t misinform your Doctor nor your Lawyer.” —Benjamin Franklin.
- “The power of the lawyer is in the uncertainty of the law.” —Jeremy Bentham.
Police
- “The police must obey the law while enforcing the law.” Earl Warren.
- “Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.” —Publilius Syrus.
Teacher
- “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” – William Arthur Ward.
- “Of all the hard jobs around, one of the hardest is being a good teacher.” Maggie Gallagher
Writer
- “Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river.” – Lisa See.
- “You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” – Jodi Picoult.
Other Cool Engraving Ideas For Your Watch
Still not sure what to get engraved on a watch? The final section of my list includes some funny engraving ideas, as well as spiritual and travel-related quotes, and more.
Funny
- “The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.” – Albert Einstein.
- “The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.” – Andy Rooney.
Gratitude
- “Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.” – Henry Ward Beecher.
- “Expressing gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie.
Money
- “Never spend your money before you have earned it.” —Thomas Jefferson.
- “Money is usually attracted, not pursued.” – Jim Rohn.
Motivational
- “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
- “Good, better, best. Never let it rest. ‘Til your good is better and your better is best.” – St. Jerome.
Spiritual
- “Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God’s gift of himself.” – Mother Theresa.
- “Prayer is the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself.” – St. John Vianney.
Sad
- “Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” -Leo Buscaglia.
- “There is no sadder sight than a young pessimist.” – Mark Twain.
Time
- “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” – Leo Tolstoy.
- “Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.” – William Shakespeare.
Travel
- “The world is a book and those who don’t travel read only a page.” – Saint Augustine.
- “Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien.
