If you’re buying a watch as an investment, positioning matters. In most cases, the strongest risk-adjusted opportunities sit in mid-level luxury and select top-tier brands, because markets move on liquidity mostly.

Mid-luxury and top-luxury watches operate at price points that are aspirational but still accessible, that creates a significantly larger buyer pool on the secondary market. And a larger buyer pool = stronger resale dynamics.

Ultra–level luxury pieces can perform exceptionally well. But the ticket size narrows the audience dramatically. Fewer buyers means less liquidity, that increases volatility and holding-time risk.

There’s no official global classification system for watch brands. The industry doesn’t run on standardized tiers. So below is a strategic framework, my attempt at categorizing brands into six categories.

Watches are built to last. They're meant to be worn, serviced, and eventually passed on, and if you look after them, they tend to hold their value and sometimes grow it. That's what makes them such an interesting overlap between your portfolio and your wardrobe.

Part of it is what they're made of. Steel, gold, platinum, ceramic, sapphire: none of it really wears out. A mechanical watch can also be serviced again and again for decades, cleaned, repaired, brought back to life, so it keeps working and keeps its worth.

Then there's the market itself. The big houses deliberately make fewer watches than people want, and they raise retail prices every year or so to stay exclusive, which quietly pushes second-hand prices up too. Iconic models barely change from year to year, so it's easy to track what they're worth, and there's a global resale market with real price data and steady demand.

The type of watch you choose can change your returns a lot. The graph below compares Patek Philippe's sports models, the Nautilus and the Aquanaut, with their classic designs, the Calatrava, Gondolo and Grand Complications. The sports models clearly come out on top. They more than doubled at their peak in 2022, and even after the correction, they're still well ahead of the classics.

Sport models trade more like cultural commodities. They're scarce, instantly recognizable; worn by the athletes, founders and artists, and there's always someone ready to buy one. That's what drives the price, and also why it swings more, while the classics move slower, but steadier.

So if you're buying with value in mind, here are the rules I'd stick to. Mechanical only; quartz is great for everyday wear but rarely holds its value. Buy the icons, the references people recognize, because that's where the buyer pool exists. Materials matter, so go for pieces made to last and to be serviced for decades. And on a practical note, keep the original box and every bit of paperwork, because a full set can make a real difference when you sell.

But the truth is, most watches lose value over time. I'd dare to say that if you buy outside of these simple rules, you're almost guaranteed to. So if we're going to spend our days chasing the clock, we might as well own a good one.