5 Great Moments in Horological Gifting

The best advice I ever got was to work with the best people you can find. The intention is that by surrounding yourself with people who are smarter and kinder and more skilled and experienced than you, you will be challenged to grow as a human.

However, for some, surrounding yourself with the best has another benefit – free watches!

Here are five times when celebrities and athletes showed their love for their colleagues with meaningful timepieces.

Giving watches as gifts has always been a way to show appreciation for your employees and, occasionally, your co-workers. In fact, getting an inscribed timepiece upon retirement was de rigueur back when people spent their working lives with one company.

Nowadays, there’s no need to wait until your colleagues are 65 to show them how much you appreciate them. Over the holidays, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence hosted a dinner for his offensive linemen. And to thank them for their support and protection, the NFL star presented each of the 12 players with brand-new timepieces, which got us wondering if it wasn’t too late to transform into a professional football player.
 

So, which watch did Thomas, the league’s 2021 overall first draft pick, choose? Well, he’s a Breitling ambassador, so it makes perfect sense that he gave out a dozen Avenger Chronograph 45s (which retails for anywhere between $4,350 and $14,400, depending on the version).
 

After soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was recently spotted wearing a bespoke Caviar Tourbillon Tsavorites from Jacob & Co., we think it’s safe to say that the Portugal native knows how to spoil himself.
 

In 2014, Ronaldo surprised his Real Madrid teammates with personalized Diagono watches from Bulgari. Retailing for over €8,000 a piece, each watch was engraved with the player’s name along with Ronaldo’s initials and jersey number. You know, just in case you lost the gift card and couldn’t remember who gave it to you.
 

(Front photography by Liam O'Donnell)