These popped up on the-bay and at first I thought, wow- still in the box...then I realized, if I got these as a gift from my employer, I never would have taken them out of the box either. I have gotten agency swag before for which I thought- you could have just given me the $3 and I would have been much happier.

 

This one is way better! May have been re boobed, er... redialled. Nice Jugs. I mean Lugs.

 

Paging @Mad Dog

 

My guess is that the Chevy watch is bleak early '80s, when the quality of that watch just might have been better than the quality of their cars.

 

At first, I thought that in the Elgin box was a reverse Seiko Arnie but then I zoomed in...

 

I'd post a couple pictures of the two watches I've gotten from my employer, but I'm not allowed to speak disparagingly of my employer online :-D One is Fossil, and that one probably cost them close to $75 each, so not too bad - just not my thing. The other was a tank style of such dubious quality that I would be shocked if they had paid $10 each, including printing on the dial.

 

Big brother is watching, they always are.

 

The chances of it being seen by my employer are vanishingly small. But I'd still rather not chance it.

 

I finally made it to the point where my anniversary gift could be an automatic. Bottom end Tissot, if I remember.

Had I been one of the younger collectors around here (yes, we have several here where I work), I would have been thrilled. Hopefully, when they get to my seniority they won't be either.

 

My friend in Norway completed 20 years at his place of work. As a thank you, he could chose 1000 pounds in cash or a watch to the value of 2000 pounds. He bought a Tag Heuer. He is in no way into watches but thought it would be nice to have a nice watch for weddings and the like. I thought it was a nice gesture for employees, no matter what their job or position in the company they all got the same offer.

 

Well, the post/pics don't have to be "bashing" the employer - you can brag about the watches your employer gave you!

 

A friend who worked at Audi gave me one from his stint there.. I think he threw it in a box when sending something to me, sorta using it like stuffing/shipping peanuts .. ? It's actually not all that bad - I think it's a Skagen (is that how you spell it?).

 

It used to be standard practice to get a gold watch, or maybe a SS Datejust, upon retirement in the US, but then the value had to be included in the employee's wages for tax purposes which left a sour taste in everyone's mouth. The employer could attempt to cover the extra taxes but it just became too difficult. So now you get a 'laurel and hardy handshake', a retirement dinner and the choice of some cheap gift from a catalog that flies under the IRS guidelines as a significant amount of income. "Thanks for your 35 years of loyal company service".

 

In the first law office i joined, the tradition was a rolex on your 10th anniversary as normally by that time you would be a partner already. Slowly got eroded. And at one point it took 12 to 15 years to get partner.

In one very old company i joined later, the tradition was a rolex upon retirement (provided you have served at least 30 years). One of the last persons who could qualify was not able to get his because the company fell on hard times and got sold.

 

Freebie "Worldtimer watch" from Portal Software from about 20 years ago. I do like their humour having subdials showing the times in Cupertino (their global HQ), Sydney and Tokyo but, then, they also put a Tachy scale on the bezel. Unworn to this day and complete with box and paper and protective plastic still on the dial.

 

Sad really isn't it. I think in Norway the gift is tax deductible so it's a win win for both sides.