Always buy the best you can afford is an old maxim that pays dividends when the time comes to sell.

There is no doubt that a good brand name adds to the value of an article when it comes into the saleroom, and it would seem that the collectors just can't get enough of it.

This illustrated wonderfully well in my saleroom last week with three lots in particular.

Considered among the best, an unusually large 1920s Mont Blanc fountain pen known as an Oversize Simplo model with a retracting nib, certainly caught the attention of the serious collectors.

A bank of telephone bidders blew away my modest estimate for it, as it sold for a staggering £2,000.

There were two other examples of design-led wares originally sold by and stamped Asprey, the Bond Street jeweller where the great and the good shop.

A pair of brass and elephant hide bookends dating from about the 1960s sold for £150; while a fine quality pig skin travelling jewellery case made £210. There's no doubt the name added a premium to all three.

Another example of designer labelling adding value is illustrated by a collection of Steiff teddy bears which in the same sale sold collectively for £2,190.