Rolex, Omega, Breitling, IWC and more. When we talk about things that get better with age, wine is always what comes to mind. If all you want is to get a little drunk, an expensive, hundred-year-old wine is not going to be your drink of choice.

But if what you really want is to enjoy the experience of drinking wine, it doesn’t get any better than shelling out for an exceptional bottle.

Likewise, if all you’re looking for is a practical way to keep track of time, your mobile phone is your best bet. But if what you really want is to wear a piece of history, it doesn’t get any better than owning a vintage timepiece. Investing in vintage watches can be daunting at first, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll never look back. After all, how many other things in your investment portfolio can you wear on your wrist?

In our modern age of ‘new now next,’ we’re always looking for the shiny new thing, for the next edition, and we want it now. We barely have a chance to get used to our old iPhones before Apple puts out a new one and suddenly everyone has to get their hands on it. In the watchmaking world, you could drop thousands on a brand spanking new timepiece that features all the latest complications, or you could save the thousands for a vintage watch from one of the most respected names in the industry.

The first watch would no doubt serve you well for many years, but the second has something special that the first just doesn’t. The vintage watch is unique, a better opportunity to represent your personal style, a gadget made at a time when quality, reliability and longevity were of the utmost importance, a wearable piece of history. Let’s start with the basics…