Mechanical watches are art: they’re beautiful to look at and their value, while subjective, can rise more steadily than Paul Hollywood’s sourdough.

The mechanical watch industry is by its nature conservative though, and so are buyers. That means the models that are most likely to stand the test of time – and deliver return on your investment – are the classics from the big-name brands.

Disclaimer: we can’t guarantee that these watches will go up in value (shout-out to the FashionBeans legal team), but with interest rates Rock-Bottomed for the foreseeable, consider this a good excuse to use that lump sum earning little to nothing to invest in some sweet, moneymaking wrist candy.

And unlike more intangible assets, if the market crashes, then at least you’ve got a good-looking watch that tells the time, and maybe even does other stuff too.

Rolex Submariner

‘The crown’ regularly tops polls of the most valuable and recognized brands on the planet, not just in the watch world. Come at the king, you best not miss.

“Relatively speaking, Rolex is a young brand,” says Lloyd Amsdon, co-founder of pre-owned specialist Watchfinder. “But it broke records and gave us technology that we still use today: water resistance, self-changing date. That kind of heritage attracts collectors, which drives up vintage prices, and that solidifies residuals for newer models. For Rolex, it’s been a perfect storm.”

Rolex is famous for quality, accuracy and the glacial evolution of its models, many of which can rightfully lay claim to iconic status. The Submariner is almost the Platonic ideal of a diving watch: much copied, never bettered.

“Steel Rolex sports watches are a surer thing than money in the bank, and the black-bezel Sub is a classic choice,” says Amsdon. “There will be a small hit of depreciation from new, but as RRPs rise, they’ll bring pre-owned prices up with them. Most have doubled in value over the last ten years.” Beat that, Warren Buffett.