Today, I received many nice graduation gifts. I received a pen all the way from France, a nice watch all the way from Switzerland, and a nice valet for holding my new pen and watch (a coincidence gift series, not planned I don’t think). Anyway since these were nice things, they came in nice boxes. The pens came in a box that was made out of metal covered in leather. It said Paris on the front and Thailand on the back. The watch came in a similar metal box covered in stretched leather that read Switzerland on the top and China on the bottom.
I understand that nice things have to come in nice boxes, after all what difference does a five dollar box make in the larger purchase of a some odd hundred dollar pen, but still the concept of a nice leather and metal box only to hold a gift for a presentation still seems silly.
What is the proper treatment for these nice boxes? Should I toss them as I have with all of the not-nice boxes that contained my electronics, toys, and tools and so fourth while they waited to be purchased? Should I store them just in case I ever need to mail them anywhere on the off chance that they prove defective? Perhaps I could use them for a mean gag gift. I could put a Bic pen in the nice box and give it to a friend on their birthday. As silly as these justifications for keeping the boxes sound, I cannot part with them for the sheer respect of the thoughtful design and careful manufacturing that went into them.
The realization that someone, or some group of people, spent hours (or days) designing, analyzing, and possibly testing these boxes makes me wonder further. Furthermore, there are dozens of people working in the high-end box factories of Thailand or China who survive on minimal wages working long hours in a factory free of OSHA regulations. They work their butts off making boxes that cost more than their day’s wages so that silly Americans can have a nice box for their pens and watches that they present to others as gifts. No wonder so many people in those countries hate Americans.