Wooden Anniversary Gifts

The fifth wedding anniversary is the wooden one. Five years in, the tradition marks a marriage with wood: a material that lasts, takes a mark, and looks more like itself as the years go on. If you want a wooden anniversary gift they will actually wear, rather than a frame or a board for the kitchen, a handcrafted wooden watch is the one that leaves the box.

Every Forest watch is real timber, packed in a wooden gift box, and can be laser-engraved in our London workshop with up to 40 characters for £25. Engraved or not, it is still returnable for 90 days. In the UK we send a prepaid label. We plant ten trees through Tree-Nation with every watch.

Why a wooden watch works as a 5th anniversary gift

  • It is genuinely wood. Real timber cases and straps, each with its own grain, so no two watches are quite alike.
  • You can have it engraved. A date, initials, or a short line, laser-engraved on the caseback in our London workshop. Engraving is £25 for up to 40 characters, added on the watch page. See how engraving works.
  • The box is part of the gift. Every watch arrives in a wooden gift box, so the presentation is done.
  • It is still returnable, engraved. Ninety days, prepaid label in the UK, even after the caseback is cut. If the size or the grain is not right, send it back.
  • Ten trees go in. We plant ten through Tree-Nation with every watch. See the planting on our Tree-Nation page.

Wooden anniversary gifts for him

Three starting points. The rest of the range is on the men's collection.

SCOUT, £75

Walnut, with a nylon strap, so there are no links to resize. It buckles. A 44mm everyday watch, Miyota quartz.

COBALT, £120

Walnut again, with a deep blue chronograph dial, white sub-dials and a date window. Same 44mm case as most of the men's watches, Miyota quartz. The bolder dial of the three.

BARREL, £260

The one with a life before it told the time. The case is cut from reclaimed American oak that was a whisky barrel first, so the wood is darker and more variable than fresh oak. 45mm, Seiko VD51 quartz chronograph. A two-year warranty, as with every Forest watch.

Wooden anniversary gifts for her

Three starting points. The rest of the range is on the women's collection.

DAWN, £80

Olivewood, pale and swirling, with a white dial. A 40mm watch that is easy to wear every day. Miyota quartz.

VICTORIA, £105

Olivewood with gold accents. A 40mm dress watch with warmth to it, Miyota quartz. The grain on olivewood loops rather than running straight, so no two Victorias look the same.

ZARA, £120

Zebrawood with Roman numerals. Pale gold running through with dark stripes, which is where the name comes from. Miyota quartz. The most openly patterned of the three, if you want the wood to be the first thing they see.

Make it theirs with engraving

An engraved caseback is what turns a nice watch into the anniversary gift. Most people use the wedding date, initials, or a short line only the two of you would recognise. Engraving is a £25 add-on on any watch, up to 40 characters, laser-engraved in our London workshop. The watch is then finished and packed there, and leaves in its wooden gift box.

It is still returnable for 90 days after it is engraved. If the watch is not right, we take it back. We send a prepaid label in the UK.

Ideas, not customer messages. Nobody has agreed to share a real engraving yet, so these are starting points, not words anyone has actually had cut.

  • 12.06.2021 (10). The date on its own, with room for initials either side.
  • Five years. Still choosing you. (31)
  • Year five of the best decision (30)
  • Wood, because it lasts. So do we. (33)
  • Five down. All the rest to come. (32)

Forty characters goes faster than it sounds. A full sentence plus a name usually does not fit. The date, or one line, does. More on length, and how the order works, on the engraving page.

Two watches

Two watches in one order can take a pair discount at checkout. Add engraving to one or both as you like. The bag shows the saving before you pay — we do not print a percentage here because the offer is set in the shop, not on this page.

The practical bits

  • Free UK shipping on every watch, in the wooden gift box.
  • Two-year warranty.
  • 90-day returns with a prepaid label in the UK, including engraved watches.
  • UK orders usually arrive within four working days. With engraving, allow up to seven working days.
  • Ten trees planted through Tree-Nation with every watch. See the planting on our Tree-Nation profile.

Splash-proof, not for swimming. Rain and washing your hands are fine; take it off for the shower, the pool and the sea. The short version is on product care.

Which anniversary is wood?

The fifth. Traditional lists vary a little between guides, but wood for the fifth anniversary is constant across them. Wooden watches also turn up on modern lists for the first anniversary (clocks) and as birthday and Father's Day gifts, but the fifth is wood's own.

From £75. Engraving £25. The box is included. Shop men's watches or shop women's watches.