Looking to make some money? Old Rolex, Tudor and Patek Philippe pieces could be the ticket.

No one would have taken you seriously 30 years ago if you told them that come the new millennium, their money would be better off in old watches than savings accounts, bonds or shares.

With a rare Patek Philippe 1518 having made history last November by selling for £9m at a Philips auction in Geneva, it’s clear the vintage watch market is on something of a hot streak. Values of some models have shown double-digit growth every year for more than a decade, and rare Rolexs and Pateks regularly command six figures.

But you don’t necessarily have to already be a billionaire collector to make it work for you. By watching out for the right names at the right prices, there is potential for anyone to find an edge.

The current darling of the vintage scene is a steel sports chronograph from Heuer (before it was TAG Heuer) called the Autavia. Six years ago you’d have picked up an early example for £5,000, max. Now they’re changing hands for 10 times that, so if you see one going for less, you should crawl over broken glass to get it. But do your homework, as there are countless variations out there, and detail is everything when it comes to vintage values.

The Autavia’s skyrocketing price has been part of a general boom in steel chronographs from the 1960s and 1970s, and has brought formerly almost worthless watches out of the woodwork, from long-since defunct brands. If it’s in good, original condition it’s a safe bet, and if you can throw in a dash of quirky 1970s colour on the dial, so much the better. A nice example is the Enicar Sherpa Graph.

One rule of thumb of the vintage watch market (apart from “Rolex is king”) is that it can track the fortunes of modern watches surprisingly closely. Interest in historic Patek Philippe Nautilus references spiked as the watch celebrated its 40th anniversary last autumn.

Perhaps the clearest example of this is the rise in prices of vintage Tudor watches in the last three years, coinciding with the brand’s sensational return to form. Hitherto unremarkable yet well-built pieces (it was always Rolex’s cheaper cousin, remember) are now commanding strong sale prices. The “Big Block” chronographs and French Navy MilSubs are already out of sight, but interest spreads to the more attainable models and it’s a fair bet that any vintage sports watch from Tudor still has some appreciation left in it.

We touched upon Rolex already and it would be remiss not to mention the absolute godfather of vintage watches – the Daytona. The most desirable references (6262, 6239, 6241, 6263) are pretty much the preserve of wily, experienced dealers, and you’ll be a big fish at the poker table if you go there looking for value. But with a decade of Daytona inflation putting them into silly money territory, buyers are turning to the so-called “Zenith” Daytonas instead (named for the period from 1988-2000 when Rolex used chronograph movements supplied by Zenith. Pick out an interesting example and you’ll still pay a fair sum, but with a chance that you’re still catching it on the way up.