Champagne is under pressure from prosecco, while global warming threatens to ruin grape harvests. But none of that ruffles Dom Pérignon, perhaps the most shadowy, snooty, and expensive brand in the business. It just continues to sparkle. So, what’s its secret?

...and in the collars, cuffs, pleats, and plackets they make. That’s Charvet, the world’s oldest shirt store. Established in 1838, it still operates from just one address in Paris.

The actual composition of a Swarovski crystal is still secret, 120 years after Daniel Swarovski set up a factory to manufacture and cut crystals. What isn’t a secret though is that Swarovski is changing from a purveyor of bling to a hi-tech brand in its own right.