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The 11th Anniversary Gift Is Steel

The traditional eleventh anniversary gift is steel. It is not on Emily Post’s 1922 list, which jumped from the tenth to the fifteenth; it comes from the expanded year-by-year list generally credited to American jewelers in 1937.

See the gift ideas Every year’s gift
A woman’s face drawn in fine line, engraved on a stainless steel pendant cut to its outline

What Does the 11th Anniversary Gift Mean?

Steel is iron made stronger, which makes it a neat follow-on to the tin of the tenth: the marriage has passed a decade and is now harder to bend. It is also the first metal on the list that is genuinely tough, so steel gifts tend to be things used hard and kept for life. The 11th is not in Emily Post’s Etiquette (1922), which listed only eight anniversaries. It comes from the expanded year-by-year list generally credited to American jewelers in 1937 (history).

Checked against Emily Post, Wikipedia and Hallmark on .

What Are Good 11th Anniversary Gift Ideas?

  1. A good kitchen knife. For the one who cooks. An old superstition says to give a coin back so the knife does not cut the bond.
  2. Steel jewelry, engraved. A pendant, cuff or ring in stainless steel, with something only the two of you understand.
  3. A watch. Steel case, worn every day for the next eleven years.
  4. A steel flask or travel mug. For the commute or the hill walk, engraved with the date.
  5. Garden tools. Steel that will outlast the garden.
  6. A steel print or sign. Your names and the date cut in steel, for the door or the gate.

What We Make for the 11th

Our engraved portrait pendant comes in stainless steel: one photo of their face (yours, the children’s or the dog’s), drawn as fine line art, laser engraved on a 1 inch pendant cut to the shape of the portrait. It is an honest steel gift, and you see the design and the engraver’s render of it on the real pendant before you pay. It also comes in gold plated and sterling silver.

A woman’s face drawn in fine line, engraved on a stainless steel pendant cut to its outline
Engraved pendant, steel
Stainless steel
From $59
A woman’s face cut as a linocut print, engraved on a sterling silver pendant cut to its outline
Engraved pendant, sterling
Sterling silver
From $89
A couple painted as an Art Nouveau panel among lilies, in a black floating frame
Framed canvas
Matte canvas in a floating frame, four frame colors
From $79

11th Anniversary Questions

What is the traditional 11th anniversary gift? +

Steel. It comes from the expanded American list generally credited to jewelers in 1937; Emily Post’s 1922 list did not include an 11th.

Is the steel pendant real stainless steel? +

Yes. The steel option is stainless steel, scratch and water resistant, and ships on an 18 inch chain in a gift box.

Whose face can go on the pendant? +

Anyone with one clear photo of their face: you, your partner, your children or a pet. It is drawn as line art and engraved, so a well-lit, front-on photo works best.

Other Anniversaries

Every year from the 1st to the 60th, with the US and UK lists side by side, is on the anniversary gifts by year page.

A Portrait of the Years So Far

Upload one photo of the two of you, or everyone. You see a watermarked proof before anything prints.

Make an anniversary portrait
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Never Used to Train AI

We never use your child's photo to train AI models, and your child's name is never sent to the image model.

You Approve Before We Print

You actively approve a watermarked proof before we print a single piece, and if it arrives damaged, we reprint it free.