Preferring to call myself a wristwatch enthusiast rather than a collector or investor, it is in this spirit that I approach wristwatch ownership. When collecting watches, you should buy what you like, not what you think you should have. 

It is true that huge amounts of money can be achieved at wristwatch auctions, with certain timepieces selling for millions. There really is some spectacular money to be made on vintage Patek Philippe watches, providing you bought at the right price; one Patek Philippe managed to achieve in excess of $11,000,000. And it is quite common for the right Patek Philippe to raise several hundreds of thousands at auction; for instance at a recent sale in Geneva, one Patek perpetual calendar dating from 1962 sold for SFr1.6m, a tidy return on an original investment of around SFr2,000. However it has to be said that there were only three of this particular watch ever made and, as with art, cars or wine, so with watches, rarity costs.

There are those who buy complications, tending to restrict themselves to the top of the market, purchasing watches of which only a handful of examples will be made: minute repeaters, which chime out the hours, grandes complications, tourbillons that spin on more than one axis, etc. 

Then there are monomaniacs who devote themselves to one established horological marque: perhaps it is vintage Cartier, maybe old Rolex, often Patek Philippe. 

At the other end of the scale are the timepiece enthusiasts who shift from brand to brand as the mood, or more likely the prevailing fashion, takes them.
Collectors in the last category are least complicated in the pleasure they derive from wristwatches; they buy something because it amuses them and take pleasure wearing it. It is this sort of collector who has done much to fuel the current surge in interest in fine timepieces.

The popular MTV/SKY Sports aesthetic has encouraged and emboldened watchmakers to create some of the most interesting timepieces. Franck Muller, for example, has profited hugely from its association with the worlds of sport and music. While Muller may now be best know for gemset glitz, he has created some genuinely innovative timepieces in his time: the Master Banker is a watch that operates the three timezones indicated on the dial from one crown; while on the Crazy Hours the hours are located at unusual positions on the dial and the hour hand jumps around the dial.

When it comes to predicting a future classic, I would have to put a Franck Muller in my list as the man and his watches made such an impact during the 1990s, and their tonneau cases enamel dials and elegantly etiolated numerals established an aesthetic that was quickly copied.