A long-service award programme in the UAE almost always runs on three tiers — five, ten and fifteen years — and the realistic spend is AED 21–40 per employee at five years, AED 50–120 at ten years, and AED 150–300 at fifteen years and above. Those are not guesses. Engraved crystal awards in our catalogue start at AED 21 a piece, wooden plaques with a sublimated aluminium plate work out at AED 51 each in packs of 50, and the statement pieces — the Star Crystal Trophy and the UAE Falcon Crystal — sit at AED 154 and AED 280. Every price on this page includes 5% VAT.
This guide covers how to structure the tiers, what each one should cost, which award material survives a decade on a desk, and how to get bilingual engraving right the first time.
Why a tiered programme beats a one-off gift
Most UAE companies discover the problem in year three: HR hands out an identical crystal award to a five-year employee and a fifteen-year employee, and the fifteen-year employee notices. A tiered programme fixes this for almost no extra money, because the headcount at each tier is wildly different.
In a typical 200-person Dubai company with normal turnover, a year's recognition list looks roughly like this: 20–30 people hitting five years, 8–12 hitting ten years, and 2–4 hitting fifteen or twenty. The five-year tier carries the volume, so that is where cost control matters. The top tier carries the symbolism, so that is where you spend.
Run the maths on 200 staff: 25 five-year awards at AED 34, 10 ten-year awards at AED 63, and 3 fifteen-year awards at AED 280 comes to AED 2,320 for the entire year — less than most companies spend on a single exhibition banner.
Tier 1 — Five years: clean, engraved, consistent
At five years the award needs to look deliberate, not cheap. A laser-engraved crystal in the AED 21–42 band does this well: the 3D Rectangular Crystal at AED 21, the 3D Cube at AED 22, or the standard Crystal Award in Small (10×12 cm) at AED 25. Keep one shape across the whole tier so that five-year awards are instantly recognisable on a shelf.
Tier 2 — Ten years: add a base, a box and weight
Ten years should feel physically heavier. The Crystal Award with Blue Base and Box moves the price to AED 48–63 and — critically — arrives in a presentation box, which matters when the award is handed over at a company event rather than posted to a desk. The alternative at this tier is a wooden plaque: AED 51 per piece in a pack of 50, 237 × 190 × 22 mm, with the text sublimated onto an aluminium plate.
Tier 3 — Fifteen years and above: one piece, clearly different
This is the tier people photograph. The Star Crystal Trophy (AED 154), the Crystal Globe Trophy (AED 182) and the UAE Falcon Crystal CR-10 (AED 280) are all visibly a different class of object from the Tier 1 and Tier 2 awards. For UAE-headquartered companies and government-linked entities, the falcon piece is the one that reads as local rather than generic.
Real prices from the catalogue (VAT included)
| Award | Spec | Pack | Price (AED) | Per piece | Suggested tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3D Rectangular Crystals | Laser / 3D sub-surface engraving | 1 pc | 21 | 21 | 5 years |
| 3D Cube Crystals | Cube, sub-surface engraving | 1 pc | 22 | 22 | 5 years |
| Crystal Awards — Small | 10 × 12 cm, 0.66 kg | 1 pc | 25 | 25 | 5 years |
| Crystal Awards — Medium | 15 × 17 cm, 1.15 kg | 1 pc | 28 | 28 | 5 years |
| Crystal Awards — Large | 18 × 20 cm, 1.60 kg | 1 pc | 34 | 34 | 5 years |
| Semi Circle Crystals | Curved face, flat base | 1 pc | 37 | 37 | 5–10 years |
| 3D Square Crystals | Square block | 1 pc | 42 | 42 | 5–10 years |
| Crystal Awards with Blue Base and Box | S / M / L, presentation box included | 1 pc | 48 / 56 / 63 | 48–63 | 10 years |
| Horizontal Wooden Plaque with Box | 237 × 190 × 22 mm, aluminium plate | 50 pcs | 2,550 | 51 | 10 years |
| Vertical Wooden Plaque with Box | Portrait format, aluminium plate | 50 pcs | 2,550 | 51 | 10 years |
| Crystal Awards with Blue Design Side | Coloured side panel | 1 pc | 91–119 | 91–119 | 10–15 years |
| Wooden Plaques with Silver Spanish Plate | Metal plate on wood | 50 pcs | 5,400 | 108 | 15 years |
| Wooden Plaques with Spanish Plate | Small / Medium / Large | 50 pcs | 6,100 | 122 | 15 years |
| Star Crystal Trophy | Star form on pedestal base | 1 pc | 154 | 154 | 15–20 years |
| Crystal Globe Trophy | Globe on crystal base | 1 pc | 182 | 182 | 15–20 years |
| UAE Falcon Crystal CR-10 | Falcon motif, UAE identity piece | 1 pc | 280 | 280 | 20 years / retirement |
Full ranges are on the crystal awards and trophies and wooden plaques collections.
Crystal or wood? The ten-year test
The honest difference is not looks, it is how the award ages on a desk in a UAE office.
- Crystal — laser or sub-surface engraving is inside the glass, so it cannot rub off. It shows dust and fingerprints, and it chips if dropped. Best for awards that sit on a shelf or in a display cabinet.
- Wood with a sublimated aluminium plate — the print area on the standard plaque is 230 × 153 mm, which is enough for a logo, a name, a role and a date line without crowding. Wood handles knocks better and hangs on a wall. Direct sun through an office window will fade an uncoated plate over several years, so keep it off a west-facing wall.
- Metal plate on wood (Spanish plate) — the premium version at AED 108–122 per piece. Heavier, deeper plate, and it photographs much better at an awards evening.
If you are still choosing between formats, our breakdown of trophy vs plaque vs crystal award compares them side by side.
Getting the engraving text right
Nearly every reprint we see on long-service awards comes from one of four mistakes:
- Name spelling. Pull names from the HR system as they appear on the Emirates ID or the employment contract, not from email display names. Arabic names transliterated two different ways across the same batch is the single most common problem.
- Job title at the wrong date. A fifteen-year award should carry the role the person holds now, not the one they were hired into. Lock the title list with HR before artwork.
- Bilingual layout. If the award carries Arabic and English, the Arabic sits above or to the right, and it needs to be supplied as outlined vector text — Arabic fonts reflow and break letter joins when a file is opened on a different machine. Our guide to Arabic and bilingual print design covers the rules in detail.
- Date format. Pick one — "2011–2026" or "15 Years of Service, 2026" — and apply it across all tiers. Mixed formats in one batch look careless in photographs.
Send the engraving list as a spreadsheet with one row per award: name, title, tier, award type, and the exact line breaks you want. That single file removes almost all back-and-forth.
How to order and what the lead time really is
- Fix the list. Export the anniversary list from HR with joining dates, then filter by tier. Do this at least six weeks before the ceremony.
- Choose one shape per tier and order a single sample of each if this is the first year of the programme.
- Send artwork as a print-ready PDF in CMYK at 300 dpi with text outlined. Design support is included with every order.
- Approve the digital proof. This is where the engraving list gets checked name by name — budget two working days for HR sign-off.
- Production. Wooden plaques are ready in 5 working days after final approval. Crystal awards with engraving run on a similar cycle; large mixed batches should be booked earlier.
- Delivery. Across the UAE — Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Al Ain, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain. Delivery is free within Dubai on orders over AED 800, which almost every award batch clears.
A practical scheduling note: most UAE companies run recognition at the end of the calendar year or around the company anniversary. December and the last week of Ramadan are the two busiest windows for engraving, so a batch booked in those weeks needs an extra few days of buffer.
Frequently asked questions
What is a realistic per-head budget for long-service awards in the UAE?
AED 21–40 at five years, AED 48–122 at ten years, and AED 154–280 at fifteen years and above, VAT included. For a 200-person company with normal turnover, the full annual programme typically lands between AED 2,000 and AED 4,000.
Is there a minimum order quantity on awards?
Crystal awards are priced per piece, so a single trophy can be ordered — useful for a one-off twenty-year award. Wooden plaques are supplied in packs of 50, which is why they only make sense for the tiers that carry volume.
Can every award be engraved with a different name?
Yes. Variable engraving is standard on both crystal and the aluminium plate on wooden plaques, so each piece carries its own name, title and date without a price change per piece.
How long does a long-service award order take?
Five working days after final artwork approval for wooden plaques, with crystal engraving on a comparable cycle. Build in two days for proof checking and you should plan on roughly two weeks from "HR sends the list" to "boxes in the office".
Should the award carry the company logo or the employee's name more prominently?
The name. A long-service award that leads with a company logo reads as branded merchandise. Put the employee's name at the largest size, the milestone second, and the logo small at the base or on the plate edge.
Do the prices include VAT and engraving?
All prices shown include 5% VAT. Engraving and design support are included with the order; the only thing that changes the price is the award model and size you choose.
Ready to plan this year's programme?
Send your anniversary list and we will come back with a tiered quote, a sample recommendation per tier and a production date that clears your ceremony. Call or WhatsApp 0522100909 (+971 52 210 0909), or browse the full crystal awards and trophies collection and the wooden plaques collection to shortlist shapes first.
