Features:
"The more complicated the watch and the more things it does, the more desirable it’s going to be now and in the future," Faber says. That means you should invest in a model with features like a moon phase complication, a triple calendar, a minute-repeating function, or an alarm.

The Starter Kit:

Sport
Steel, black-dial Rolex Explorer 1016 from the seventies or eighties Tag Heuer 36-millimeter chronograph with a Valjoux 72 movement

Formal
The recently discontinued 5110 Patek Philippe World Time

Day
Bright red, blue, and yellow Bauhaus-style chronographs made by Alain Silberstein in the nineties


STORE GUIDE
To buy the perfect timepiece, you first need to find the right store.

New York:

Patek Philippe Salon at Tiffany & Co.
727 Fifth Avenue
212-755-8000

Tourneau TimeMachine
12 East 57th Street
212-758-7300

Chicago:

Swiss Fine Timing/Atelier Jewelers
645 North Michigan Avenue
312-337-4700

C.D. Peacock
520 North Michigan Avenue
312-644-5355

Los Angeles:

Westime
254 North Rodeo Drive
310-271-0000

Feldmar Watch Company
9000 West Pico Boulevard
310-274-8016

Dallas:

deBoulle Jewelry & Watches
6821 Preston Road
214-522-2400

Ben Bridge at NorthPark Center
8687 North Central Expressway Space
214-369-2277

Miami:

King Jewelers
18265 Biscayne Boulevard (Aventura)
305-935-4900

Mayors at Dadeland Mall
7457 North Kendall Drive
305-667-7517

Boston:

Dorfman Jewelers
24 Newbury Street
617-536-2022

Shreve, Crump & Low
440 Boylston Street
617-267-9100