Learning to accept gifts like watches especially not our type.

I think there's actually only one correct answer. 

Accept any heartfelt gift gracefully. 

Watches literally don't matter. Friendships, particularly good and deep ones, are life affirming

Now as for ugly watches I have been gifted, once my sister gave me this.

It stopped functioning in three days and has never worked since.  But you know what, it reminds me of how much I missed her when she was studying abroad in China and how much we constantly make fun of each other.  I still trot it out every so often.

Sometimes you get an ugly sweater for Christmas.  Just wear the sweater 

I am not sure if I would say ugly, but my wife has given me watches that are not my taste. 😄 She really likes black and gold, and she likes skeleton watches. This led to her giving me a black and gold Relic skeleton watch and a black and gold Tonneau case solar Bering. I appreciate that she gives me watches, but these two just aren't my taste.

She has given me one black and gold watch I do like, my Casio A100 Pac Man. 😁 So, one for three with black and gold watches.

I kept them, they are gifts. I even wear them sometimes. It’s the thought that counts right…

No watch gifts.  But, I can tell you about the best / worst gift I've ever gotten...

Have a buddy I've known since we were 14.   Right after college, we lived in a house with 3 other dudes, and had huge parties and lots of friends over all the time.  One Christmas, we had a big gift exchange, and this buddy of mine got everyone a t-shirt with his headshot on it.  Like this...

Most amazing gift ever.

You should think of your gift watches the same way.  It's something that's incredibly painful to wear.  But, it signals how much you value your friendship, as the only reliable signal is a costly signal.

My wife, who admittedly has a significantly improved taste, has bought me a few timepieces over the years that I’ve been a ‘smidge’ underwhelmed by - but since it is who it’s from, and what it signifies I wear it from time to time and enjoy it.

My usual day to day ‘beater’ is a few levels higher in terms of prestige but carries less in terms of sentiment.

Accept the gift graciously for what it is and remember to look at it through their eyes, not yours - or anyone else’s.

Educate on the reality in due course but be sensitive :)

You could send him this video ;-). Might help things along. https://youtu.be/0x_id7L8dpo

Oh my gosh I be honest... I would not know what to do if they would ever got me something like that I would say it was lost in the laundry out there. Make sure you wear that on his birthday too.

Yeah took me a while to accept it. here I am trying to build a serious self made collection and out of no where... But it is what it is what matters most a gift from the heart. 

Good idea Imma send him this and share my collection and we see in a few months.

That right agree with you on that one.

Wow at least she got one right. I told my wife never ever get me something out of the norm. I made sureI told her save the time, headache and embarrassment.

Depending on who gives me said gift I will either be polite or tell them straight out whether I like it or not. Most people that actually buy me gifts know that I am picky and brutally truthful so they generally give me money instead and let me pick my own watches which is what I tell them to do to avoid such circumstances 😉

I now provide her with a list if brands and styles, and she does much better. 😅

Ah...if I like 'em I wear 'em, if I don't like 'em I give it away ASAP? Turns out there's only so much watch love in my heart that it doesn't cover crap $5 AliExpress specials.

A good friend of mine gave me a gift for my 40th birthday last year. She knows I'm a "watch guy", so she gave me a quartz Sekonda dress watch that belonged to her uncle who died a few years ago. 

Honestly, I wore it on the day that she gave it to me, but it hasn't been on my wrist since, but I was incredibly touched by the sentiment and I'll treasure it forever. A gift given with love is something that you literally cannot buy.

I'm pretty adamant that I have too many already but were I to get something awful I can think of two routes I'd take.

1.  I loved that watch but unfortunately it fell on the bathroom floor from shoulder height a dozen or two times and stopped working. So sad.
2.  Wear it around until someone notices and mentions it in any way. Then claim that in your country (Mypos) this means you simply must give them the item and their refusal would be a grave insult. Note that if they mention another watch some other day, that this is different because (make something up).

I like that concept! I been like that a few times and some people told me be quiet and polite about it. Rarely I can be like that and other times I won't accept the gift at all I just take off like the Lone Ranger.

Some I keep and others I just use it maybe halloween party? or even better pool party put it through water test.

Alright thats not a bad idea I like that!

True that and thats why I kept it. My wife won a free iPhone watch and it turned out was a cheap chinese walking pace walker that looked like iPhone watch it was piece of crap she threw it away!

Very cool anecdote! Honestly I'd be kinda worried if any of my loved got me watch as a surprise or a gift. None of the are watch people at all😂 They don't know the difference between quartz and mechanical. They think Invicta is a good brand. Maybe it is to many people, and that's totally ok. My mom thinks the watches on "The Home Shopping Network" are gorgeous! But if she ordered me one as a gift it would definitely have a permanent spot in the collection.

That’s the point we all agree we might not always like that certain style of the gift but all make the difference on who and how they give it and presented to us. We will cherish the memories.