About 100 years ago [actually May 1997] when I started turning, someone suggested that I number my wood turnings. I started with the first -- I turned that at Tom Cowan's shop under his supervision and instruction on his Powermatic 90 -- and have attempted to continue the tradition ever since. As I branched out into other types of turnings [table legs, kitchen utensils, etc.] I decided that the only thing that got a number would be decorative items like bowls, vases, and the like. So, my pepper mills, ice cream scoops, and the like don't get a number -- after all, where would you pot a number on that sort of thing and who cares anyway. The recipients of my numbered turnings seem to get some buzz out of the numbers.
The list of my numbered items has the number, short description, height, diameter, finish, and completion date. Since January 2009, I've linked the number to a picture most of my turnings which I keep in my "Woodworking" folder on my computer. The Excel listing also has noteworthy remarks, if there are any, as well.
Here's an example of a line in my Excel file:
#360 Maple bowl Bowl 6.24 9.25 Lacquer and wax/beal 6/15/2014 Done with Beal system full plus hand work
I recommend that new turners start numbering and tracking their turnings, or at least the important ones.