The best 10 year work anniversary gift is one the person will still wear or keep 10 years from now, drawn in your organization's own colors and crest. At Harris Made, enamel cufflinks start at $45, and a matching brooch at $38 covers anyone who doesn't wear cufflinks. Where ties get more use than either, a bespoke silk tie starts at $48.
We wrote this for the people who run service awards, usually in human resources or internal communications, at companies, universities, schools and hospitals that recognize dozens or hundreds of people a year. Buying 1 gift for 1 colleague is a simpler job, and the questions at the end cover it. For a whole program, our advice is to plan the year's milestones as 1 collection and order it at once.
A 10 year work anniversary gift should outlast the decade it marks
Most milestone gifts are chosen 1 level at a time, so a plaque at 5 years and a clock at 10 have nothing to do with each other, even if each one goes down well on the day. A collection carries 1 motif through every piece, such as your crest or a building people know. The badge someone receives at 25 years then belongs with the pin they were given at 5, and a colleague who reaches 30 years holds the whole set.
We design each collection from scratch, and no piece is ever sold to anyone else. Our page on employee recognition gifts for years of service shows what we make for milestones, and the same pieces often go to retirements and leadership awards.
The plan in brief
- Pick 1 motif and carry it from the first milestone to the last.
- Give each level its own piece, from a $15 lapel pin to a $95 cashmere wrap or leather bag.
- Count next year's anniversaries and order the collection at once. Our requested minimum is 125 per design.
- Allow 8 to 16 weeks, which is how long most projects take.
- Present each piece in its box, with a few words about what the person built.
Each milestone has its own gift
There is no single right ladder, and even our own pages arrange it differently. Our employee recognition page pairs lapel pins with the 5 and 10 year milestones and saves cufflinks, silk ties and scarves for 20 and 25. Our employee recognition gift ideas also start with a pin at 5 years but put leather at 10 and an engraved piece at 20. The table below is a third way to do it, where each level steps up from the last and the set ends with something for the home. Move pieces around to suit your people.
| Milestone | What it marks | Gift | Starting prices |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 years | Settled in, and staying | Enamel lapel pin | $15 |
| 10 years | A decade of work | Enamel cufflinks, a matching brooch or a bespoke silk tie | $38 to $48 |
| 20 years | A career built here | Silk or devoré scarf, woven club tie or Saxony wool scarf | $55 to $72 |
| 25 years | The silver anniversary | Medallion or blazer badge, or a brass paperweight | $52 to $58 |
| 30 years | Most of a working life | Merino throw, cashmere wrap, silk pashmina set or leather bag | $88 to $95 |
These are catalog starting prices. The final figure depends on the design and the materials, so ask us for a quote once you know what you'd like to make.
A 5 year work anniversary gift starts the collection
At 5 years, give something worn at work, where colleagues will see it every day.
Lapel pin
An enamel lapel pin, from $15, is crisp in detail and built to be worn for years. The price matters here, because 5 years is usually the level with the most names on the list. See lapel pins and cufflinks in the catalog, and our guide to custom cufflinks for how enamel pieces are designed.
The motif the set will repeat
Whatever goes on the pin will appear on every later piece, so choose it with care. Your crest is the obvious choice, though a building can carry a whole set just as well, the way the windows of The New School's Manhattan building carried its scarf and tie. Emma draws the motif by hand first and then draws each later piece around it.
A 10 year work anniversary gift is worn on the right occasions
At 10 years, the gift moves from everyday wear to something kept for dinners and ceremonies, in the same design as the pin.
Enamel cufflinks and a matching brooch
Enamel cufflinks start at $45, with a matching brooch at $38 for people who don't wear cufflinks, so everyone at the level gets the same design in a form they will actually use. The University of Notre Dame commissioned this pairing as cufflinks and a brooch for its donors and alumni, and it works just as well for a 10 year milestone.
Our cufflinks are hand-forged in brass or nickel with an enamel overlay. The color is set by hand and polished flush, so the surface stays crisp over years of wear. The craftsmanship page explains how each piece is crafted.
Bespoke silk tie
A bespoke silk tie, from $48, is printed on heavy silk in your colors and finished by hand. It's the better choice at organizations where cufflinks would rarely come out of the box. See silk and woven ties.
"We cannot thank you enough for the extraordinary heirloom-quality gifts that reflect our deep appreciation for our Benefactors. With your help, we have created unforgettable memories that they will carry with them and share within the Notre Dame community. Collaborating with you has been a true delight!" Jessica Reasons, The University of Notre Dame
A 20 year work anniversary gift can carry a story
By 20 years, a person has watched the organization change around them, and a silk scarf or tie drawn from your own buildings or history suits that. The New School's scarf took its geometry from the windows of its Manhattan building, and the University of Chicago's came from a Babylonian lion mosaic at the Oriental Institute.
Printed or devoré silk scarf
A bespoke silk scarf starts at $65 and is printed on lustrous silk twill, in a square or a rectangular size. For a softer effect, a devoré scarf has the pattern burned into the cloth so it shows against the light, from $72. Our guide to custom silk scarves covers how a design is drawn.
Woven club tie or Saxony wool scarf
A woven club tie, from $55, carries your stripe and emblem through the weave. Saxony wool scarves start at $58 and come off the same looms that make the scarlet cloth for the Guards' uniforms at Buckingham Palace.
A 25 year work anniversary gift deserves the most formal piece
At 25 years, the silver anniversary in the wedding tradition, the gift should feel like an honor. Pair it with a signed letter from your president or chief executive. There is a sample below.
Medallion or blazer badge
A medallion or blazer badge, from $52, is handmade with gold and silver gilt metal wire thread, the same bullion thread used on the Guards' uniforms. The back is magnetic and covered in felt, so it goes on and comes off easily, and on a desk it doubles as a paperweight. Boston College commissioned a medallion badge in gold and silver gilt wire.
Brass paperweight
A cast brass paperweight, from $58, is engraved with your crest and, in our catalog's words, built to outlast a career. Columbia chose a version in gilt wire instead. Browse coasters and paperweights.
A 30 year work anniversary gift is the gift people keep at home
Many gift lists stop at 25 years or fold everything after 10 into 1 tier, so someone at 30 years, most of a working life, can end up with the same gift as someone at 12. A piece for the home is a good way to mark the difference.
Merino throw
A merino throw woven in your colors starts at $88. MIT Sloan commissioned a pure new wool throw woven with the School's name, and our Churchill throw was first woven to keep Londoners warm during the Blitz. See throws and pashmina.
Cashmere, pashmina or leather
A hand-finished cashmere wrap starts at $95, and a silk pashmina gift set at $90. For a colleague who still travels for work, there is a tote or messenger bag in leather and canvas, also from $95.
A whole year of milestones fits in 1 order
Ordering 1 milestone at a time means a new search and a new round of approvals every few weeks. It is much simpler to brief the whole year together and approve the designs once, and then the pieces match from the first level to the last. Emory Goizueta Business School recognized a lot of people in 1 commission, with brass coasters for the 100 honorees of its centennial.
Count next year's anniversaries
Pull next year's hire dates from your human resources system and count how many people reach each level. Then add any retirements and leadership awards you already know about, since the same pieces often suit them.
Plan around the minimum
Our requested minimum order is 125 per design, which a large organization may reach at a single level. If yours is smaller, you can give 1 piece at 2 levels, as our employee recognition page does with pins at 5 and 10 years, or start with fewer pieces and add the senior levels later. Send us your counts and we'll suggest a plan.
Start early
Most projects take 8 to 16 weeks. Begin well before the first anniversary on your list, and ask us about timing if your dates are tight.
What happens after the brief
- Emma draws the design by hand, around your colors, crest and story.
- We make samples for your approval.
- Mills and a foundry in Britain that hold Royal Warrants make the pieces.
- Emma inspects every piece before it is boxed.
Our process page shows how a bespoke gift is made, step by step.
The presentation finishes the gift
What arrives in the box
Every gift is hand-wrapped in a foil-embossed presentation box branded for your organization. Your thank-you message is printed on a notecard inside, with the gift's provenance on the reverse, so whoever opens it can read where the design came from.
Who presents it
Ask the person's manager or a senior leader to hand it over. At 5 and 10 years, the anniversary itself is the right day, in front of the team. From 20 years on, a service dinner gives the moment more weight. Whoever speaks should name 2 or 3 specific things the person built or taught others to do.
A letter to go with it
For 25 and 30 years, add a short signed letter. Here is a sample you can adapt.
Dear [Name],
In [year], you joined us as [role]. Since then you have [specific contribution] and [second contribution], and many of the people around you learned the work from you.
This [gift] is made in our colors and carries the same [motif] as the pin you received at 5 years. Thank you for [25] years.
[Name], [Title]
"Thank you Harris Made for providing remarkable quality silk scarves and ties that were gifted with pride; recognition gifts that are still being talked about with excitement and enthusiasm!" Hadley Thomas, Director of Alumni Relations, College of Engineering, Purdue Research Foundation
Length of service awards have their own tax rules
In the United States, Internal Revenue Service Publication 15-B covers employee achievement awards, including awards for length of service. For 2026, it says the exclusion applies to tangible personal property and not to cash, cash equivalents, gift cards, gift coupons or gift certificates. The award must be part of a meaningful presentation. The excludable amount is $400 a year per employee for awards that are not qualified plan awards, or $1,600 for qualified plan awards, which are made under a written program.
So the rules favor a physical gift, presented with some ceremony, over a gift card. There are more conditions than we can cover here, and you should confirm how they apply to your program, including your first milestone, with your own tax adviser.
Frequently asked questions
What do you get an employee for 10 years of service?
Something worn or kept for decades in your organization's own design: enamel cufflinks from $45, a matching brooch from $38 or a bespoke silk tie from $48. If you plan every milestone, make it part of 1 collection with the pin given at 5 years.
What is the traditional 10 year anniversary gift?
In the wedding anniversary list, the 10th anniversary is tin or aluminum. Work anniversaries have no fixed tradition, so you are free to choose a piece in your own colors and crest that will last.
What do you say for a 10 year work anniversary?
Name the year the person joined and 1 or 2 things they built, for example: "In 2016 you joined a team of 6. Today you lead 40 people, and most of them learned the job from you." Keep it to a few lines, signed by the person who presents the gift.
What is a good gift for a coworker's work anniversary?
From a coworker, a card signed by the team or a small personal gift is right. Milestone gifts in the organization's own design come from the organization, and our employee recognition gifts are made for that.
How much should you spend on a work anniversary gift?
Spend more at each level. Harris Made starting prices run from $15 for a lapel pin to $95 for a cashmere wrap or leather bag. In the United States, check the Internal Revenue Service limits for tax-free length of service awards with your adviser before you set budgets.
Can work anniversary gifts be personalized with a name and years of service?
Every Harris Made gift is designed around your organization's colors, crest and story, and stays exclusive to you. The person's name and years belong in the letter and in the words said when the gift is presented; if you want them on the piece itself, ask us when you brief the project.