Logos are an important way of signaling our wealth and our fashionability – key weapons in any status-conscious society. In previous ages, richly embroidered fabrics and tapestries delineated your class and engraved signet rings denoted your lineage; now logos have become the contemporary way of communicating our lifestyle, our aspirations and our means. However, in spite of the cachet that logos afford, there has been a noticeable rebellion against over-branding. Status that is shouted too loudly has become tacky (“new money” hiss the snobs or “too obvious” snort the fashionistas). Coolest of all, some argue, are products that have no logo at all, relying, instead, on trademark design details or fabrics. Think the boxy, collarless jackets that have been signature Chanel since 1925, or Hermès scarves, with their unmistakable patterns. Or, for instance, this clutch by the Italian luxury brand Bottega Veneta. It is entirely logo-less; yet that intrecciato weave is such a recognizable signature for those in the know, who needs a logo? bottegaveneta.com

Conventional wisdom has it that hard-won cocktail recipes must remain secret, each bar jealously guarding the process of alcoholic alchemy that turns base ingredients into liquid gold. But at St. Regis hotels, the Bloody Mary – one of the most famous cocktail recipes in the world –  also has other versions for each St. Regis hotel. Created in 1934 by the head bartender at The St. Regis New York’s King Cole Bar, the concoction of vodka, tomato juice, celery salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, Tabasco sauce, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce was an instant hit. Renamed the Red Snapper, a moniker that hasn’t withstood the test of time, order a Bloody Mary at The St. Regis New York today and a classic Red Snapper is what you will get. In Osaka order a Shogun Mary and prepare for a sharp kick of wasabi and soy sauce; on the island of Mauritius, La Belle Creole Mary comprises a racy little combo of plantation rum and aloe vera; and in Shenzhen, your Yan Mary comes with a side order of fresh oyster. The St. Regis Bloody Mary is a trip around the world without leaving the comfort of your bar stool.
stregis.com/bloodymary

Natural masterpieces created by the patient hand of time, fossils are the world’s oldest antiques, with even the youngest claiming a 10,000-year pedigree. While fossil collecting remains a popular scientific endeavor, the parallel trade in one-off statement pieces is gathering pace, as these exquisite natural objects catch the eye of fine-art collectors. Dale Rogers, the man behind Dale Rogers Ammonite, has spent his life hunting down rare specimens, but finds are becoming increasingly scarce. The closure of mines and quarries in former hunting grounds and a pronounced illegal trade makes fossil-hunting difficult. Rogers regularly visits countries such as Morocco, Madagascar and the US and has braved Afghan warlords and the frozen wastes of Siberia. The company offers a wide range of wonders, from the astonishing Atlas Medusa, a 1.75-ton amalgamation of 25 species of ammonite, to pieces of 4,000-year-old meteorite from Argentina. Rogers has a reputation around the world that is bolstered by exhibitions in the U.S., U.K., Dubai and Japan. Pieces similar to this Madagascan ammonite come in at around $1,000 – not bad for a 180-million-year-old slice of history. dalerogersammonite.com

Forget the Year of the Snake, in fashion terms, the horse continues to dictate the stakes in 2013. The paradigm of English country style, the equestrian look, was originally tailormade with sleek lines deployed for comfort and to avoid spooking the horse. Its adoption by the gentry was established in the early 1800s, and the look has rarely fallen out of favour since. Last year the aristocratic pursuit truly conquered the wider realm, with the global success of the stage and film versions of War Horse and the enthusiastic following of dressage at the London 2012 Olympics (Hermès designed a classic tricolore kit for the French team). Luxe label Gucci began life as a saddlery shop in Florence in 1906; from its trademark gold snaffle insignia to its red-and-green striped branding, its iconography is drawn from riding. The brand may have sexed up in the 1990s, but in today’s more sober climate it has cannily returned to its roots. Step forward the Victoria riding boot, with adjustable bridle strap detail. Although the Gucci vamp hasn’t been forgotten, it seems that she has turned to outdoor pursuits. gucci.com

When an Antoria six-string acoustic guitar played by Sir Paul McCartney in his early band The Quarry Men made $70,000 at Bonhams recently, no one batted an eyelid. Because alongside Elvis and Michael Jackson, The Beatles are kings of the thriving musical and entertainment memorabilia market. Financial woes usher many items to the auctioneer’s block: John Lennon donated his psychedelic Rolls Royce Phantom V to New York’s Cooper-Hewitt Museum to help settle an IRS dispute. It was auctioned at Sotheby’s after his death for $2.29 million. And death can be the ultimate fiscal stimulus: the late Elizabeth Taylor made history in 2011 when the Christie’s sale of her jewels fetched $116 million. Auctions of Michael Jackson’s stage outfits, meanwhile, continue to generate money for his debt-laden estate – Lady Gaga snapped up 55 such lots recently. Gaga knows that celebrity today means having a slice of your idol now: the Fame Monster star recently autographed a urinal that sold for $460,000 on eBay. bonhams.com; juliensauctions.com

Vintage jewelery may feature stones of the highest quality, but it can easily look dated. Eliane Fattal, daughter of legendary arts patron Jill Ritblat, has found a stylish way to offer a second life to antique jewels. A photographer and art historian, Fattal was best known for keeping American Vogue editor Anna Wintour in statement necklaces. Stumbling across a vintage flower brooch, she persuaded S.J. Phillips to transform it into a contemporary cocktail ring, laying the groundwork for her exquisite Metamorphosis collection. Inspired by the grand dames of glamour, such as Elizabeth Taylor and Peggy Guggenheim, Fattal created 20 unique pieces that had the international jewelery trade in raptures. While Jonathan Norton, one of the fourth-generation brothers who run S.J. Phillips today, oversaw the technical side (Fattal has no formal jewelery training), she found innovative ways to reinterpret old pieces to suit the demands of modern women’s lifestyles. Many can be unscrewed and worn in several ways, from a rose-cut diamond star brooch, pictured, which morphs into the head of a large cocktail ring, to a diamond and emerald-striped scarab pin reborn as a surreal hair ornament. sjphillips.com

One impact of the rise of China is the rise of the Chinese collector and the seemingly inexorable rise in price of the Chinese collectible. Everything from a Ming vase to a Shanghai movie poster from the 1930s is coveted by someone, somewhere (most likely China). Nowhere is this seen more than in the world of stamp-collecting. Steve Matthews, Chinese specialist of the stamp-market company Stanley Gibbons, says that stamp-collecting has become a national pastime, with about 20 million Chinese people collecting stamps, and increasing numbers of Hong Kong and mainland Chinese millionaires seeking to own the rarest specimens and reclaim their history. Unlike the buyers of other assets, stamp collectors love nothing more than things that have gone awry. The block of four Chinese stamps photographed here, for instance, shows some perforations are completely missing vertically, which makes it worth about $132,000. Is it the moment, perhaps, to dust out those old albums? stanleygibbons.com

Look inside any high-end jeweler’s window today and one color will shine out: yellow. In the past few years, yellow diamonds have become the fashionable choice for women who want jewelery that is different from their mother’s. While white diamonds will never go out of fashion, “women now want a bit of color”, says Katharina Flohr, creative director for Fabergé. “They want something that is more fashion-conscious.” In 2011, a record for a yellow diamond was set when the Sun-Drop was sold at Sotheby’s in Geneva for about $12.4 million. While pale yellow stones are less valuable than white diamonds, stones that are a dark, vivid gold are incredibly rare – for every 10,000 white diamonds mined, only one will be a “fancy” or fiery vivid yellow. This Graff ring (pictured) is set with a single 52.73ct, fancy vivid-yellow, emerald-cut diamond, surrounded by 170 white diamonds. Pairing yellow with white diamonds, CEO Francois Graff says, “intensifies and electrifies the color of the stone to its highest degree”. Not that this petrified sunbeam needs any help to shine. graffdiamonds.com

When the Channel Tunnel linking Britain with France was excavated, one of the most exciting finds for archaeologists was a Roman intaglio ring. During the Roman Empire, the engraved rings would have been worn by businessmen who had images – mythological beasts, horses, portraits – carved into gems such as amethyst, agate or jasper. “In Roman times, paper didn’t last long and painting wasn’t a popular art,” says antique jewelry dealer Peter Szuhay. “So if you had a beautiful daughter, you had an intaglio made of her by the best gemcutters.” Collecting intaglios, he adds, was so popular among travelers on the Grand Tour that in the mid-18th century, most travelers to Italy came back with at least one. Today, while there has been an increased interest in the rings at auction houses such as Christie’s, with one from 330 BC selling for $118,750 last year, most are still surprisingly affordable. “People have to be educated to know the value of historical pieces,” Szuhay explains, “but most buyers have no idea what they’re looking at.” So next time you come across an old ring in less than perfect shape, it might be worth a second look. peterszuhay.com

Over the two millennia since Wang Bao first described the preparation of tea, the drink’s popularity has spread from China across the globe. Once the highly coveted drink of the rich, tea has become the world’s second-most popular drink after water. According to Cliff Burrows, the group president of Starbucks, it is not just the commonplace teabag that is being brewed. Why the resurgent popularity? Travel, says Burrows. Generation Y have journeyed to more exotic climes and heard all about tea’s health-giving properties. And, like all modern generations, they enjoy tasting new things – silver-needle iced tea, perhaps, or a cup of sparkling Golden Monkey. Last November, at Hong Kong’s first ever rare tea auction, teas more than half a century old and worth more than $1m went under the hammer. “We have had a tea-drinking tradition for a really long time,” says tea expert Vincent Chu Ying-wah. “Chinese people have got wealthy, and tea is a necessary thing. This is why the price of tea still keeps going up.” Something, no doubt, to which tea traders will raise a cup. teasenz.com