Love of the hobby is most important but equally are the friends you make along the way.

When I was in the art business and prior to that even I purchased many of the things that grace my walls today. Frankly I no longer have a square inch of wall space.
I tell people that my retirement is hanging on my walls.

I have found that most of the things that I purchased have increased in value substantially yet I never purchased one single item with that thought in mind.
I have to say that though not disappointed that the value has risen, I really don't care as I have no plans to rid myself of any of this anytime soon
There is a better than even chance that a good portion of this stuff may find it's way into some smaller museum anyway, one that might be lacking some of these things but who knows.

At least when it comes to art. I always say buy first becasue you like it.

When it comes to art for investment and I think it holds true for most things buy the best you can afford.
Your $10 Timex may work great while your $5000 Cartier does the exact same.
Yet, in the course of time, you will perhaps go through a number of cheap watches and while they might not cost a lot, that Cartier is almost gauranteed to escalate in value