Last Updated: April 2026
TL;DR:
- The “bad luck” belief traces back mainly to Chinese culture, where the phrase for “giving a clock” (送钟, sòng zhōng) sounds identical to “attending a funeral” (送终) — one of the biggest gifting taboos in Chinese etiquette.
- Outside of Chinese, Taiwanese, and some other East Asian traditions, a watch is one of the most well-received gifts you can give — in Russia it’s read as a wish for a long, happy life.
- If you’re worried about the superstition, the traditional fix is simple: have the recipient hand you a coin or small bill in exchange for the watch, which symbolically turns the “gift” into a purchase.
Jewelry has been a go-to gift for birthdays, weddings, and anniversaries for centuries, and a watch sits right at the top of that list — it’s personal, it’s worn daily, and it says more than a gift card ever could. But if you’ve spent any time researching what a watch symbolizes in a relationship, you’ve probably run into one nagging superstition: that giving someone a watch is bad luck.
So is it actually true, or is it one of those rumors that outlived its origin story? Below, I’ll walk through where the superstition came from, why it still matters in some cultures and not others, and five solid reasons a watch remains one of the smartest gifts you can buy.
Is it bad luck to give a watch as a gift?
It depends entirely on the culture you’re gifting into. In Chinese, Taiwanese, and parts of broader East Asian tradition, giving a watch or clock is considered a serious faux pas because it sounds like wishing death on the recipient. In Western countries and Russia, a watch is seen as a generous, even romantic gift with no death association at all.
The superstition’s roots go back to an old belief among watchmakers’ clients: that a craftsman poured a piece of their soul into every handmade watch, and if the watch ever stopped ticking, that piece of soul was gone for good. That idea was tied to the balance wheel inside a mechanical movement — its back-and-forth motion was read as the “heartbeat” the watchmaker had given the piece.
The far more widespread version of the taboo comes from Chinese linguistics rather than folklore. “Giving a clock” (送钟, sòng zhōng) is a homophone for “attending a funeral” or “seeing someone off to their death” (送终, sòng zhōng). According to the South China Morning Post, this makes clocks and watches one of the most avoided gift categories in Chinese culture, right alongside sharp objects and pears (which sound like “separation”). The Korea Times notes the taboo is strongest with elderly recipients, since the gift can be read as a comment on how little time they have left.
How do people get around the taboo if they still want to gift a watch?
The recipient pays a token amount — often a single coin or a small bill — back to the giver. That small transaction reframes the watch as something the recipient bought, not something they were given, which is believed to cancel out the bad luck entirely.
This workaround shows up across multiple East Asian gifting customs and is well documented by China Highlights as one of the standard fixes for other taboo gifts too, like knives. If you’re gifting a watch to someone from a Chinese or Taiwanese background, tucking a small coin into the box is a low-effort way to sidestep the whole issue.
Outside that specific cultural context, the meaning flips entirely. In Russia, gifting a watch is a way of wishing someone a long and happy life — the opposite of the Chinese reading. In most Western countries, a watch carries no death symbolism at all; it’s simply read as a generous, thoughtful, and often romantic gift.
5 reasons watches make a great gift
Superstition aside, here’s why a watch consistently outperforms other jewelry as a gift.
1. You’re gifting time, not just an object
Time is the one resource nobody can buy back. A watch keeps the recipient on schedule for meetings, flights, and everyday plans, and giving one can quietly signal that you want to spend more of your own time with them. It’s a small, practical gesture that reads as thoughtful without being over the top.
2. Watches are built for daily wear
Most watches on the market — quartz movements especially — are rated for years of daily use with minimal maintenance. A stainless steel case and sapphire or mineral crystal can handle knocks that would scratch up softer jewelry. That durability means a watch never becomes a “special occasion only” piece sitting unused in a drawer; it gets worn, which is exactly what makes it feel valuable.
3. Watches carry personality
A slim gold dress watch reads completely differently than a chunky vintage diver or a minimalist mesh-band piece. Picking a style that matches someone’s actual personality — not just what’s trendy — makes the gift feel personal rather than generic. If you’re shopping for someone whose style leans neutral, our guide on what color watch goes with everything is a good starting point.
4. A watch becomes a permanent reminder of you
Because it’s worn on the wrist daily, a gifted watch ends up in the recipient’s line of sight dozens of times a day. Over months and years, that repeated visibility builds an association between the object and the person who gave it — which is part of why watches are so common as anniversary and graduation gifts.
5. Watches read as a luxury gift even at moderate price points
You don’t need a five-figure Swiss piece to make an impression. A well-made watch in the $150-$400 range with a solid stainless steel or gold-plated case still reads as considered and upscale, especially compared to mass-market accessories in the same price bracket. That perceived value is part of why watches have a long track record as milestone gifts — including the classic Forbes-documented tradition of companies gifting gold watches to retiring employees, a practice that dates back to the 1940s.
Other watch and clock superstitions worth knowing
The gifting taboo isn’t the only superstition tied to timepieces. In many Western traditions, it was once customary to stop a clock in the room where someone had died, marking the exact time of death for the record. Because of that association, a stopped clock suddenly starting again — or a silent clock unexpectedly chiming — was sometimes read as an omen.
Another common belief: never turn a watch’s hands backward to set the time. Some traditions hold that “reversing time” on a watch invites bad luck into other areas of your life, even though there’s no mechanical reason it would affect the movement. If you’re generally curious about jewelry folklore, our piece on the necklace falling off superstition covers a few more of these beliefs in detail.
Are there other jewelry gifts considered bad luck?
Yes. Pearls, opals, and jewelry inherited from someone who has passed away all carry their own superstitions in different cultures, ranging from “tears and sorrow” associations with pearls to inherited-jewelry taboos tied to grief.
If watches aren’t quite the right fit for the person you’re shopping for, it’s worth reading up before you buy — check out our breakdowns on whether pearl earrings make a good gift and the superstition around wearing jewelry of the dead so you know what you’re working with before you commit.
The Bottom Line
The “bad luck” reputation around gifting a watch is real, but it’s culturally specific — rooted in a Chinese linguistic coincidence rather than any universal truth. If your recipient has Chinese or Taiwanese heritage, either skip the watch or include a small coin to symbolically “sell” it to them. Everywhere else, a watch remains one of the safest, most practical, and most personal gifts you can give — it’s durable, it’s worn daily, and it becomes a lasting reminder of who gave it. When in doubt, ask about the recipient’s background before you buy, and browse our jewelry gifting guides for more ideas that won’t misfire.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do Chinese people think giving a watch is bad luck?
Because “giving a clock” (送钟) is a homophone for “attending a funeral” (送终) in Mandarin. The phonetic overlap, not the object itself, is what makes the gift taboo — it’s considered one of the top gifts to avoid in Chinese culture, alongside sharp objects, shoes, and pears.
Does the watch superstition apply to gifting a couple’s watch or anniversary watch?
In Western and Russian traditions, no — a watch given between partners is typically read as a sign of commitment and a wish for shared time together. In Chinese tradition, the taboo still applies regardless of the relationship, which is why the coin workaround exists.
What should I give instead if I want to avoid the superstition entirely?
Bracelets, rings, and personalized jewelry pieces don’t carry the same linguistic baggage. If the recipient is into watches specifically, simply include a coin with the gift to neutralize the taboo rather than switching gifts altogether.
Is it bad luck to give a broken or secondhand watch?
That’s a separate superstition from the funeral homophone. Some people consider a stopped or broken watch an omen on its own, unrelated to whether it was received as a gift. A working secondhand watch doesn’t carry any additional bad-luck association beyond the standard gifting taboo.
Do other Asian cultures share the Chinese watch-gifting taboo?
Taiwan shares the same taboo, since it stems from Mandarin homophones rather than a purely Chinese cultural practice. Other East Asian cultures, including Japan and Korea, have their own separate sets of gift-giving taboos that don’t always overlap with the clock/watch superstition.
Is a watch a good graduation or retirement gift?
Yes, outside of Chinese-influenced traditions. Watches have a documented history as retirement gifts dating to the 1940s, and they remain a popular graduation gift because they mark a transition and get worn daily afterward.
Stephanie is a jewelry lover when she was a teenager. Her major was fashion design when she was in college. She is a jewelry designer at SOQ Jewelry and other design companies. Now she is also a writer for our website. She writes a lot of designs&brands posts with very actionable tips.