It was not that long ago that spotting a classic timepiece on a person’s wrist was a sign that you were dealing with someone in the know. But over the past few years, with quality mechanical watches becoming widely available across the Internet — along with information about them — that is no longer the case.

Still, there are watches that can act as that secret handshake among knowledgeable collectors.

“I was at Wilkes Bashford in San Francisco trying on some clothing when I was approached by an older gentleman who quietly said to me, ‘Nice Cartier London,’” recalled watch dealer and collector Eric Ku of the online reseller 10PastTen. “I was wearing a white-gold Tank from the 1960s with a matching mesh bracelet, and I was shocked someone could see it was a London one. He flashed his wrist at me, saying, ‘Because we all know London was the best Cartier,’ before walking away. It was a surreal experience, and I still wonder who that man was.”

Luckily, you do not have to be a veteran collector or a mysterious figure at a haberdasher to get a next-level watch. Here are five reliable, relatively available types of watches that will impress even the most finicky of enthusiasts. — Bloomberg