Original subtitles

# The best things in life are free

Downloaded from YTS.MX

# But you can give them To the birds and bees

# I want money... #

Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX

JENNA COLEMAN: One London shopping street is out of this world.

Bond Street's an amazing place to be.

One of the best shopping streets in the world.

# That's what I want... # This is premier division.

This is top of the range internationally.

It has more luxury brands than any other half mile on Earth.

# I want money... #

Monday morning, drinking champagne and, uh, looking at diamond rings.

I mean, you know, what more could a girl want, really?

# That's what I want... #

Beautiful. I think my husband's getting nervous, probably.

Bond Street's a hotspot of celebrity.

I've been in scenarios where entire stores have been shut down

for one individual to come in.

Worth billions, the most expensive retail street in Europe.

MICHAEL WALDMAN: What would you get for 50 million?

Not very much! HE LAUGHS

With dazzling diamonds...

How much will you be selling this for?

£3.2 million.

..fabulous fashion...

..and millionaire motors.

This car was used in a Bond movie.

GAVEL BANGS Sold.

It caters for every taste. From the antique...

If you wanted a complete set, you're talking around about a million.

..to the new...

Bond Street is one long Instagram location.

Oh, no, what's TikTok? ..to the very new.

Yeah, do you like that? Yeah? I think Daddy should buy you that.

But since last year, Bond Street's been fighting for its future.

We are here to make a profit,

which hasn't been that easy this year, I have to say.

As its glamorous shops battle to survive,

they let our cameras in exclusively for the first time.

MAN: This is the Versailles room.

From front of the house... to factory floor.

When you start working here,

it's like, "Oh, my God, chocolate, chocolate."

Will billion-pound Bond Street keep its crown

as the world's greatest shopping street?

I'm ready to wear, but I sell anything and anywhere and anyone.

# Shine bright like a diamond... #

Autumn 2020, and Bond Street is open for business

after London's first lockdown.

# Find light In the beautiful sea... #

Brothers Nicholas and Michael Wainwright,

who run British jewellers Boodles, are taking an extraordinary gamble.

# We're like diamonds In the sky... #

Here, we've got a stone that we've just bought.

An extremely valuable diamond you're looking at.

It's one of the most valuable diamonds we've ever bought,

because it's pink and it's over ten carats.

We saw it, and we thought, "We just have to have it."

And diamonds like that hardly exist in the world.

That is what they call an appreciating asset.

MICHAEL: How much will you be selling this for?

£3.2 million.

This is a lot of money for us, but we saw it,

we loved it, and we thought, "We've got to buy it."

And we've bought it at the right price,

paid for it, so it's not borrowed, we've got it.

We do have some customers who we think

might be interested in this stone.

We wouldn't have bought it if we didn't think that.

And we'll make the setting really lovely

to make that ring the nicest ring it could be in the world.

MICHAEL: If I came in as a client

and said that I'd like it as a pendant, not as a ring...

Oh, no problem at all. LAUGHS

Oh, no, no prob... You'd do it by Monday morning.

How... When do you want it? LAUGHS

No, we... No, we can set it in a day.

If the Queen wanted it in a pendant, she'd get it tomorrow afternoon.

The Queen can have other things, too.

Bond Street has more Royal Warrants than any other London street.

# I, I've got sweets For my sweet... #

Chocolate maker Charbonnel et Walker owes its very existence

to the Royal sweet tooth.

# Candies for your mama... #

King Edward VII, who is our current Queen's great-grandfather,

he was known as being a great bon viveur,

and his favourite chocolate was made by Madame Charbonnel in Paris,

and he persuaded her to come over here.

He was rather well known for having beautiful mistresses,

and we like to think that maybe she that was the other...

another side of the story of why she came over here to see him.

MICHAEL: And that Royal connection continues?

It does indeed. And we are so lucky to have Her Majesty's Royal Warrant.

Yeah, we have lots of pictures

of the Queen and the Royal family around the shop.

They were given to us by the Palace.

The Queen does have a list of favourite chocolates with us,

erm... but I'm not... allowed to divulge that directly to you.

However - however - I can just say that she has very floral tastes,

which may become evident

if we look at the chocolates a little bit later.

Well, maybe we should start with our two most popular chocolates,

which are our rose and violet creams.

Never said a word. Never said a word.

And their largest box of chocs cost a queen's ransom - £280.

And is there a picture of Mrs Charbonnel anywhere?

There is. This is... Madame Charbonnel.

Well, you remember that theory I said about the Prince of Wales

known for all these beautiful mistresses and things like that?

Maybe that's where the story falls a bit flat.

She's not the... not the tastiest truffle in the box, is she?

Let's be honest.

Bond Street, it's an amazing place to be.

I mean, what a spot to people-watch.

And those are the people who will splash out on designer brands -

even in a pandemic.

The lady here is the Queen of Dior,

and she always have the latest Dior bags.

That's the Lady Delight.

I've also a Dior one, the classic.

Mine is Chanel. Sorry, girls. WOMAN LAUGHS

You don't go to Dior just for a bag, because you can buy it online.

You go for an experience. It's the whole, like, shebang.

It's the way of an investment these days, as well.

# You want me, I want you, baby My sugarboo... #

This is the Versailles room.

If we have one of our VIP clients,

we will actually close the room completely.

So, to give the client complete privacy,

so they don't need to know what's happening outside.

MICHAEL: How do I become a VIP?

What's the... What's the definition of it?

When, erm... When you start shopping later on today, I'll let you know.

At what level does the champagne come out?

Any time after 11, actually. LAUGHS

So... No, we offer drinks to all of our clients.

Every client who comes into the House of Dior.

WOMAN: Really? Yeah.

Whether they're coming in to have a look around,

for an art tour or coming in to purchase.

# I need you all night... #

Dior is just one of 12 brands on Bond Street

owned by the ever-growing French luxury empire LVMH.

This superstore has no fewer than 70 staff.

# Dance with me, I'm levitating. #

So, I notice there are no evident price tags.

No. Everything is hidden. You've always got the price on the inside.

The idea is to always have a sales assistant here,

because we don't really want clients going through things.

And the price tags are always inside,

so if you know where to look, you'll always find it.

The policy here is never to discuss

anything as vulgar as price in public.

If you look closely, you can see this is all done by hand,

embroidered sequin by sequin.

But some of the dresses are the price of a small family car.

What do you think of the prices here?

Erm... Well, it's luxury,

so it's priced according to the luxury market.

If you go to any of the boutiques down the road,

I'm sure you'd see the prices are all very similar.

CHUCKLES

It's beautiful craftsmanship, it takes hours of work,

and you're paying for an art piece, at the end of the day.

As soon as you walk in, it's voom, boom,

and then it's there.

Is that your character, too, would you say?

It is a little bit. I'm a little bit boom, boom, boom, yeah.

LAUGHTER What's your department?

Where do you sell? I'm ready to wear,

but I sell anything and anywhere and anyone, so... whatever.

You know, we're very versatile. You mean you could sell me?

I could sell you for a good pretty penny.

LAUGHTER

I'll get a few pennies for you, that's for sure.

Now, you're a very flattering person. Well, you know.

But do you just have a positive view of the world? I do, yeah.

You've got to take things lightly and do your thing, you know?

Don't take things too serious, especially now.

So, you know...

But whatever, whenever you want me to sell you, just let me know.

For a pretty price. I take commission.

But I've got to go. Nice to meet you. Ciao.

Bye. CREW LAUGHS

As international big business tightens its hold on Bond Street,

some small, private concerns are managing to keep afloat.

The flower stall has been in the hands

of the Watkins family for 50 years.

Grandfather, son and grandson who share more than just a surname.

My grandfather's name is Peter Watkins,

also my dad's name is Peter Watkins, and I'm Peter Watkins, as well,

so Pete the Third, as we say.

Or we say Big Pete, Little Pete, Baby Pete.

So Christmas time is murder, do you know?

If someone shouts out "Pete!" we all start running.

PETE LAUGHS

Pete, are there some little... very, very small Petes gonna come along?

PETE LAUGHS No...

Not that I know of at the minute. LAUGHS

But... there's a big pressure, do you know what I mean?

If I do have one, it's got to be called Pete, I think,

do you know what I mean?

Joe! Are you all right? LAUGHS

What makes Bond Street different from other streets?

I don't know. What makes it different, Pete?

The stuff's beautiful, innit? All the stuff is superb.

You've got all the best designers down here,

all the best jewellery down here,

you've got all the best shops on Bond Street.

Yeah. So everyone...

People want to buy the best, so they all want to come here.

Yeah. Best flowers on Bond Street.

Yeah. No, if I had it, I'd spend it. It's what it's for innit?

Just need to get that queue... You know what I mean?

Me and my partner have been investing a lot in Uber lately,

and it's performing really well today. Yeah.

So we've managed to liquidate and close some of the positions we had,

and we made a great profit, and now, we can go spend it.

THEY LAUGH

MUSIC: 'Bad Guy' by Billie Eilish

With a billion pounds being spent here every year

and a recent £40 million diamond heist,

no wonder security is one of the biggest businesses on Bond Street.

Both low and high tech, security is everywhere.

He's a very, very dangerous man.

Say hello. THEY LAUGH

He's one of the biggest, baddest men on Bond Street.

MICHAEL: Oh, really? Yeah.

Given you know all the security guys, would you get a discount? No.

We've all tried. Trust me, we've all tried.

OK, here, we've got to a nice car. What do you think of this?

It fits in with Bond Street.

It's not... It's not practical, but it's, erm... it is what it is.

The guys come down Bond St, you do get people who...

I'm trying to think, without saying "dick-swinging contest",

I wanna say it another way, but it's one of those things

where people want to come down and show off and go,

"No, I've got the next big thing." Keeping up with the Jones'.

Yeah. If you've got the cash, why wouldn't you?

It's not discreet, though, is it? You don't wanna be discreet.

Yeah, but, for Bond Street, that's...

Yeah, you don't want the discreetness.

If you've got that money,

that means you're spending money in the shop, then, you know...

why be discreet about that?

That's why our security needs to be what it is to protect these people.

Is it your car? Yes, it is.

Can we have a look? Yes.

OK, let's go have a little chat to him.

Tell me about this car. What do you like about it?

It's a Rolls-Royce. It's class.

It's classy. Class, of course it is.

It's the world's... It's the world's best. Really?

Rolls Royce is the world's best. And are you a classy man?

Uh, yes, I hope I am, yeah. MICHAEL LAUGHS

And do you often come to Bond Street?

Yes, I do. I often shop on Bond Street.

I'm here quite regularly. Why? What do you like about Bond Street?

No, the relationship I have with some of the retailers here

is far more, erm... exclusive than I have anywhere around the world.

They, erm... With Bond Street, you get a little bit of extra,

shall I say. LAUGHS

You do? Yes, you do.

And what sort of things do you buy here?

Watches, really. Really? Can I ask what you've got on at the moment?

I've got a Rolex... Uh-huh? ..Daytona.

And have you been buying another one today?

Yes, I'm here actually to collect a watch.

Oh, really? Yes.

Can I ask what business you're in, or...?

Er, aviation. Aviation. Yes.

Bond Street was flying high, but then, bad news.

BORIS JOHNSON: 'From Thursday until the start of December,

'you must stay at home.

'You may only leave home for specific reasons.'

Boodles may have the pink diamond on their hands

longer than they think.

Well, it's a funny feeling. It's a bit like the end of term.

All the excitement there, and then that's it,

and you say, "See you on the other side."

I'm putting them now to bed.

And with no customers allowed from tomorrow,

there's really no point keeping an open bottle of champagne.

We... We need to finish this.

We don't want the bottle going flat, so we thought we'd be helping.

It'll just go flat, otherwise. It will go to waste.

Yeah. THEY LAUGH

# School's out for summer... #

Chin, chin. Cheers. Yeah.

# School's out forever. #

MUSIC: 'Ghost Town' by The Specials

# This town Town

# Is coming like a ghost town

# All the clubs Have been closed down... #

November 2020.

Bond Street is in lockdown,

but behind the scenes, some business battles on.

If you haven't already started a stash of gifts for loved ones,

Dior have helped...

With its flagship store closed,

Dior is reaching out to its vast online audience

with a livestream from fashion journalist

and influencer Caroline Issa.

Flagships are like meccas for Instagram.

I actually think that social media has completely changed also

what stores look like,

because you always need that Instagrammable place.

So, you know, if Bond Street is one long Instagram location,

then, my goodness, every store - and especially this Dior store -

has got so many great little nooks and crannies to do that, too.

Even in normal times, one small British business

doesn't rely on passing trade.

Hidden away above the shops, antique jewellers Facet & Fable

is the brainchild of Eva Gowrie-Smith and Zoe Robinson.

ZOE: Yeah, do you like that? And baby comes, too.

Yeah, I think Daddy should buy you that.

I do, yes. And Mummy should wear it whilst you're waiting to grow up.

My daughter was having a bit of a moment, so I had to take her out,

and I bumped into people I know on Bond Street,

and, I mean, I sold a diamond.

Some of these dealers that we work with, I mean,

once you see the smile on Clara's face...

CLARA COOS ..yeah

Then... Then we negotiate. Yeah.

So, this is a really special find for us.

It's beautiful Victorian diamonds, a marquee-shaped ring.

We really want to educate people

on how they can wear antique pieces in a contemporary way.

MICHAEL: What is a contemporary way to wear an antique piece?

It's just getting creative. It's all about creativity

and loving your jewellery and having fun.

So, if you compare a modern round brilliant with an old European cut,

which is a round antique diamond,

you can see the difference straightaway.

If you see, there's a little circle through the top of the diamond,

right in the middle - this is an extra facet.

So, there's 58 facets on odd-cut diamonds,

and the culet is the extra facet.

And you can see it when you look through the top.

You can see a circle.

There's a saying in the industry that diamonds shrink,

and it's when you're sort of buying your first diamond,

and it looks humungous when you first buy it,

but over time it shrinks, cos your eye gets used to it.

Erm... So you need a bigger one?

I need a bigger one, exactly.

# I wonder, wonder who

# Who, who wrote The book of love... #

It's not just jewellery that's benefiting

from the current vogue for vintage.

This is a book by John Gould, The Birds Of Great Britain.

In here are 360 hand-coloured lithographs.

With a set of five, makes up a complete set.

And these would be... These are £65,000,

and if you wanted a complete set of the whole 43,

you're talking around about a million.

# The book of love. #

The pandemic has brought rare book dealer Bernard Shapero

a rare bit of luck.

He's negotiated a cheap rent on an empty ground-floor space

to open a pop-up shop.

Can you put the doors back on?

'We're not just trying to sell books.

'We're trying to sell pictures and prints and objects.'

MICHAEL: I see a lizard there. It's not a lizard. It's an iguana.

1,500 quid.

Is it? Is that a lot? For an iguana?

Doesn't eat anything. No residual costs.

Over the last few decades,

the antique shops that used to be on Bond Street have all disappeared.

Are you worried? Well, it's a whole...

You know, it's not like I can say,

you know, "Look at all these other..."

You know, it's not like Sainsbury's,

there's Tesco's and Morrison... you know?

This is unique.

So... it could be a disaster, can't it?

It's a bit of a gamble, but hopefully,

Bond Street will work its magic.

But for most, that magic doesn't come cheap.

A lot of these companies are here

because they've got to be in Bond Street,

cos it's one of the three key thoroughfares in the world.

But being a British family business, I mean, we're here, erm,

because we want to actually try and make some money.

We've got to make some money.

But the rent is very, very dauntingly high.

# I love you, you pay my rent... #

Even Bond Street needs rent collectors.

And you wouldn't want to get in arrears with property men

Mark Shipman and Dominic Rowe.

We manage quite a lot.

MICHAEL: When you say "manage", you mean the rent?

Collect the rents, maintain the buildings.

Does that make you popular? Popularity is not great,

the gentlemen who collect the rents, particularly during uncertain times.

If Bond Street's cupboards hold any skeletons,

these guys know where they are.

So, this Chanel store, which, this, in this form,

is only probably about four years old. Yep.

Who recently bought their own freehold

for around about £300 million?

Uh, £310 million, so it was competitive bidding.

They went to the market. It was owned by a Swedish pension fund,

or a Swedish institution.

They went to the market, and Chanel outbid everyone.

There was a lot of interest from Hong Kong and Asia,

in terms of other bidders. Were you bidding for someone?

We were bidding for a Hong Kong investor, yes.

Have you... You didn't luck out?

Unfortunately, we bid just a little... a tad under 300,

and Chanel ended up buying it.

And they've spent a lot of money when they were a tenant

fitting the building out, as well.

That fit out would have been certainly £40-50 million, minimum.

They've just spent 40 to 50 million? They rebuilt the building.

Before they owned it? Yes. Before they owned it.

As tenants. Here, we've got Ralph Lauren.

The rent for this store is about £11 million a year.

We also acquired Boodles in... 2013

for about £33 million,

and today, in my opinion, it's probably worth

in the order of about £70 million.

Bearing in mind, these units are all going for around about £70 million,

these single units at the moment.

So their rent will be just over two million.

Yeah, it'll be in that sort of order. Yeah.

If you had a spare 50 million in your back pocket now...

what would you get for 50 million?

Not very much! HE LAUGHS

But that's not a problem for everyone.

In the pandemic, the super rich

are estimated to have become 25% super richer.

Stuck at home like the rest of us,

they're looking for something to spend their money on.

And what better place than high-end auction house Bonhams?

As lockdown ends, they're gearing up for a special sale.

SONG: 'James Bond Theme'

Tim, how did you come across this car?

Picked up the call, and the owner of this car wanted to know

if we could help him.

"I've got Mercury Cougar," he says. "It appeared in a Bond movie."

I said, "Hang on a minute. I'm a little bit of a Bond fan.

"This would be obviously On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

"It was Diana Rigg's car, or Contessa Tracy's."

And he said, "Yes, it is."

This car, with an estimate that we placed on it,

which is between £100-150,000,

it isn't seen as a parameter that,

if you're up to the top of that level, you're loopy.

It's more of a "come and get me".

# I need dollar, dollar

# Dollar, that's what I need Hey, hey... #

Bonhams have another special weapon in their armoury -

a very special print.

This is Banksy, er, London, New York, Bristol, Heavy Weaponry.

It's £250-350,000.

How is the market doing?

Do you know, it's actually doing really well,

and I think that's surprised all of us this year.

I think, at the start, with COVID,

we just weren't sure how the market was going to perform,

but I have to say that all of our sales this year

have done extremely well,

and it's sort of set this unprecedented, erm... demand.

It is now ten o'clock. We have now officially opened.

Bernard, too, is banking on a Banksy.

Bernard... Bernard expects.

With November lockdown over, he opens his pop-up shop.

It's one of his ones called Morons.

So that's what you see from the front.

We've got some Harry Potter, signed editions.

We've got Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, first edition.

Cat In The Hat.

This is A Streetcar Named Desire, signed by Marlon Brando.

£6,500.

The problem is, is that there are very few foreigners.

That's the problem.

Tourists and foreigners, businessmen, business women...

that's what drives the West End,

and at the moment, no-one's travelling.

If we get in ten a day, and if we get one a day who buys,

that would be not too bad.

Boodles hope to find one mega-rich buyer before Christmas.

I've got some ideas to show you for the ten-carat pink pear shape.

Oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes.

Here is the pink. Ah! From the vault.

Ooh... Here it is. It's our pride and joy at the moment.

Fancy pink. Super colour, isn't it?

Pretty, and it's bright. Yes, really bright.

The setting, it talks, doesn't it?

And it's sort of candy floss or bubblegum.

Those are the two. They don't sound very upmarket,

do they, for a stone which is priceless?

I don't think we'd put "candy floss" on a valuation certificate,

would we, Mike, I don't think?

No, in the old days we would have done.

My father would have done it. HE LAUGHS

People who've got some lolly like pinks,

and we've done well with pinks. Yeah.

Pink's important to Boodles cos it's our colour.

It's important to me cos I like pink. I wear...

Everything's pink, actually - socks, the lot.

And customers... MICHAEL: Underwear?

I'm not telling you. LAUGHTER

Actually, it is pink.

You know? So it is!

LAUGHTER

But will Boodles' future be quite as rosy?

MUSIC: 'Millionaire' by Kelis ft Andre 3000

Bond Street has re-opened just in time

for its all-important Christmas period.

# Mama, I'm a millionaire

# But I feel like a bum. #

It has to make up for lost time, and Bonhams is banking on

the buoyant contemporary art market with its Banksy.

We move on to lot number 12.

This is London, New York, Bristol Heavy Weaponry by Banksy.

Signature piece, this, from 2000, in the edition of 10.

This is a really great piece, and I can start here with interest,

150,000, 160.

170,000, I have.

180, thank you. Gentleman's bid seated at 190, sir.

200,000.

220, I have.

250,000, gentleman is seated here.

At 250. Shall I sell the lot for 250?

250 for the second time, we're getting close.

250, third and final.

GAVEL BANGS

Very good, sir. You've got a future in auctioneering there, I love it.

250K, and your paddle number is 799, many congratulations.

Erm... What a great price.

We move on to lot number 13. Thank you, sir.

'Banksy was a great price.'

I think, including all the premiums and everything else,

will be something in the region of £330-340,000,

which, for that series, is a huge price,

so we're thrilled that it sold,

and it sold to a very, very committed buyer.

The fact that he walked out with an invoice, er,

I think is all that really matters to him.

The sale of the Bond car

will be the next step in the battle of Bond Street.

MUSIC: 'All Along The Watchtower' by The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Admiral Lord Nelson lived in Bond Street in 1797.

Since then, everyone,

from some of London's highest-paid prostitutes

to Jimi Hendrix, has lived round here.

But now, there are almost no Bond Street residents left,

apart from Ollie Claridge.

That used to be my front door. MICHAEL: Uh-huh.

How long ago? About eight years ago.

Because that area there...

that corridor is worth about £150,000 a year in rent.

So I now use a rather discreet entrance, like a film star.

All the way round the back?

Yeah, or like someone visiting the plastic surgeon again.

Well, I've lived here probably about 20 years.

Guy Burgess, the spy, lived here until... until his flight to Russia.

Really?! And I think he had a lot of parties here

and probably entertained a lot of rough sailors,

cos I think he rather liked rough sailors.

And then he... In this flat? In this flat.

And then, I think it was a brothel after that.

There's a floor above us which is a kind of typical garret,

and that was lived in by a lady of the night.

A retired lady of the night.

I rather hope she was retired, but I don't know.

So it was quite insalubrious, Bond Street.

Sadly, not any more.

Garden designer Ollie Claridge has a unique rental arrangement

on a flat worth more than the Boodles diamond.

I'm here because my father lived here from the '70s onwards,

and I took the lease from him.

So I'm a bit of a sort of anomaly.

I've got a peculiar, old-fashioned lease

which no longer exists.

The landlord is The Swatch Group.

Every major brand is here,

cos they've got to have a shop in Bond Street,

and the funniest one is Bulgari, which I sometimes...

they're very nice people, but I sometimes refer to it as "Vulgari",

because their lights are so bright, I could do surgery in this flat.

I'm looking at Piaget, who sell jewels,

Tasaki, who sell jewels, Harry Winston, who sells jewels,

and it goes on.

MUSIC: 'Diamonds Are Forever' by Shirley Bassey

I don't know who buys all this stuff.

Boodles is putting all its muscle into ensuring someone will.

# Diamonds are forever

# They are all I need To please me... #

During lockdown, master gem worker Matt

has been putting the finishing touches

to their £3.2 million pink diamond ring.

Now, they've got a chance to sell it.

Morning, all. Well, today is the day we've all been waiting for

for about four or five weeks.

A lot of our customers, they've just been isolated.

For a month, they've been doing very little,

so let's hope they want to come out and come shopping.

Who's optimistic?

MURMURS OF AFFIRMATION Good, good.

Another traditional Bond Street fixture, Charbonnel et Walker,

is also intent on luring back customers.

Looking for anything in particular?

Which, for them, starts 130 miles away,

at their factory in Prince Charles' model town of Poundbury.

MUSIC: 'Sweet Like Chocolate' by Shanks & Bigfoot

# You're sweet like chocolate Boy... #

Today, Adam...

Rose and violets today, Claire, yeah?

..is catching up with new chocolate developer Claire Weller

over the violet creams.

They look so shiny and fresh when they come out of this machine?

It's brilliant. I love the way they come out of here.

When you start here, it's like,

"Oh, my God, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate."

Sometimes, I go in, and I'll eat chocolate

from the moment I get there to the moment I leave.

Erm... We won't mention that to the chairman.

CHUCKLING: Erm...

One of the greatest pleasures in the world.

It's up there with, you know, diamonds and flowers and fine wine

and all these wonderful things and chocolate.

And it makes you feel good, and if we...

God knows we need something to make us feel good right now.

This is a naked violet cream.

They're placed on the conveyor belt by hand, they go through,

and they're enrobed in chocolate.

MICHAEL: Enrobed? Enrobed. Oh, yeah.

Chocolates are never covered or dipped - they're always enrobed.

Very Charbonnel.

When they've come through once, they come back to the beginning,

and then they're double-enrobed a second time.

And as they come through the second time,

they'll be hand-finished with the actual violet petals

and the rose petals that we use.

And what are the violet petals made of?

They're literally petals.

They're crystallised violet and rose petals.

That's why some people, if you haven't tried them before,

you go, "Oh, it is, it tastes of flowers."

And you... "How can that be?"

But it is, because we're using the natural flavourings

from the flowers themselves.

As Bond Street shuts for the day...

Dior is working all night to transform its store for Christmas.

Outside, Instagrammers flock, moths to the brand flame.

So, we went out so I could get pictures outside of the Dior sign.

With her Dior shoes. Yeah, I gotta wear the shoes

and the sign, so I was like, "I need to get some Instagram pictures."

SHE LAUGHS

LAUGHTER

Across the street, Louis Vuitton is doing the same.

Two competitors, both owned by the French multi-national LVMH,

one of the corporate giants which has taken over Bond Street

as the British brands give up the fight.

MUSIC: 'I Gotta Feeling' by The Black Eyed Peas

One British brand fighting back is Boodles.

# I got a feeling

# That tonight's Gonna be a good night... #

With the boardroom transformed into a brasserie - socially distanced -

tables for two and pink bubbly flowing,

they've lured in some top clients for lunch.

Can they sell the pink diamond ring before Christmas?

Can I get you a glass of bubbly, maybe, or a glass of wine?

Yes, please. That would be lovely, thank you.

Can we take these off now? SHE CHUCKLES

My cousin, Jody Wainwright, who is our diamond buyer,

has bought the most amazing pink diamond that we've ever seen.

It's ten carats, it's pear shaped, nicely, just for you.

So do pass it around and have a little look.

Do these people look like well-heeled tigers

who have walked into a carefully prepared trap?

If people come here, there's a lot more chance

they're gonna spend money than if they're sitting at home,

so that, you know, we're not halfway here,

but we're a bit of the way here. We're giving them a good time,

we're inviting people who are good customers anyway,

so, you know, there is method in our madness.

We are inviting them about ten, 12 days before Christmas,

so, if they're gonna buy anything,

it's more likely now than on January 15th.

# A kiss on the hand... #

Gorgeous. What a diamond! # May be quite continental

# But diamonds Are a girl's best friend... #

The pink diamond, I haven't sold it yet.

Mind, it only came from the workshop on Monday.

We've showed it to a lot of people.

If we sell it before Christmas, it will be something of a miracle.

You'd expect... You'd expect it to take six months to a year.

Why don't you sell the rest, just have that?

LAUGHTER

You'll have to sell a child. Yeah!

That's all right, I've got two. You wouldn't get much for that one.

MICHAEL: If you sell the ring for around £3.2 million

before Christmas, will you give yourself a Christmas present?

Oh... CHUCKLES

Good question. Yeah, I... Well, I won't,

but what I will do is pay myself this year.

At one point, we didn't think we were gonna pay ourselves anything,

and I mean that, back in April.

Then the year hasn't been as bad as all that,

so we thought we'd take a 50% cut.

If we sell it, we might not take that much of a cut.

CHUCKLES We'll see.

Oh, I love that. Yeah, they look out of range.

Chris and Bonnie have been customers for years,

and saleswoman Emma knows exactly how to tease them along.

Seven-and-a-half each?

How do negotiations usually work with you guys?

It normally goes like this, is that Bonnie wants something,

and she gets it. LAUGHTER

That's about it.

To be perfectly honest, I look after the finances,

so I will only let us buy something that is affordable,

you know, or feasible, to be perfectly honest, you know.

He thinks he's in charge, but of course he's not.

# Diamonds are a girl's... #

They might not have bought the big pink, but Emma has clinched a sale.

The gorgeous earrings - a mere 15 grand.

SONG: 'James Bond Theme'

Diamonds may be forever,

but the owner of the Bond car hopes it will prove lucrative, too.

The person I bought the car from, the Cougar from,

he said, when I was buying it,

it was supposed to have been used in the James Bond film,

and there's a cigar burn on the seat

supposed to be done by Cubby Broccoli.

After years of investigation,

Rob tracked down the Ford Cougar's original sales docket,

accelerating its value.

Yes, Ford were having a clear-out of their stuff, and, erm,

yeah, actually, on here, it actually says "Bond movie".

This is the order sheet as it came from the factory.

Were you sad to see it go?

My wife and daughter were both in tears, but I wasn't.

It was sort of, erm...

I think it was a relief, I think, as much as anything else.

# This town Is coming like a ghost town... #

He'll have to wait. Disaster strikes for Bond Street.

A third London lockdown just before Christmas.

Hello, Michael. How's it going?

How's it going?

Well, as you can see, it's a bit like Lockdown One here.

It's very, very quiet.

Looking down the street, everybody is closed.

How's it gonna affect luxury retail and this place?

Well, it'll bounce back, but I'm not sure when that bounce is gonna come.

It's all looking pretty grim at the moment.

I mean, I dread to think how little business

some in this street have done this Christmas,

because they are so dependent on overseas people,

and there aren't any.

I mean, the rent and rates are huge.

We are not such a big company that we can just absorb

high Bond Street rent into marketing.

We can't do that, so we are here to make a profit.

Which hasn't been that easy this year, I have to say.

# One fine day Shooby-dooby-dooby-dooby-do-wah-wah

# You'll look at me... #

But whatever the economic weather...

I love making the videos. LAUGHS

# One fine day... #

..nothing can dampen Instagrammers' enthusiasm

for this extraordinary street.

Again, going inside. LAUGHS

So this is your changing room? Yeah.

This is private changing room. Come in, guys. Don't be shy.

Come in, please. LAUGHS

MUSIC: 'Feeling Good' by Muse

April 12th, 2021.

At last, the third lockdown eases,

with the promise of a gradual return to normal.

# Birds flying high

# You know how I feel... #

It's just after 8am, and already, customers are waiting,

and the Boodles appointment book for the week is almost full.

I had two text messages at midnight last night saying that

I've got a client coming in, so, you know, we are busy.

I think people are quite desperate to get out and spend.

They've been stuck indoors for a very long time.

Oh, good, it sounds like we should have

hopefully quite a brisk start.

# And I'm feeling good... #

All of the private rooms are fully booked, actually, all week,

so really, really pleasing to see that.

Yeah, it's good to see you. Bye.

For some the return to business is even more of a relief

than for others.

I think I'll do one of each. One of each?

So it's been a long...

Well, I think this second lockdown was worse than the first.

Yeah, it's tough, weren't it, Pete? Yeah, it was.

He's all right. He done a little bit of scaffolding while we was off,

cos we were shut down, so, look, he's beefed up a bit.

He looks good, doesn't he? He looks quite good.

And we've got some lovely clients.

They've all come back and get us going,

and we've been quite busy, haven't we?

Better than what I thought.

That's Louis Vuitton, the queue. The queue.

You've got Chanel, the queue, Hermes...

Hermes is all the way round the corner.

People have money. They ain't going away.

People have got money. Hopefully, they can spend it,

and they spend it down here.

But not everyone is ecstatic to see the hordes return.

I think people have not had enough things to spend their money on.

And now, they feel that by doing that and going home

with a bag with "Cartier" on it,

suddenly, they are... alive.

# Feeling good. #

You poor things.

I've a half mind to ask them what they think they're gonna find

when they get inside.

What'd be great is if they got inside

and it was a branch of Greggs.

MUSIC: 'We Found Love' by Rihanna ft Calvin Harris

I just came to get a pair of slippers.

MICHAEL: A pair of slippers? Yeah.

Why here? Erm... I always shop at Louis Vuitton,

so if you want something, you wait.

I'm going to get one of the new Chanel bags

that were released last month.

It's a post-lockdown gift. THEY LAUGH

And can I ask you how much that's gonna set you back?

5,500, yes, yes. For a bag? Yeah.

# It's the way I'm feeling

# I just can't deny... #

But the biggest indicator that things are getting back

to business as usual is the return of the luxury cars.

ENGINE REVS, HE LAUGHS

Aston Martin, lovely.

The nicer your car, the longer you can leave it parking

without getting a ticket outside a shop.

Is this your car? It would be lovely if it was.

So, I'm just the lucky person that gets to drive it

with none of the costs. That number plate must be expensive?

Right, we're probably into seven figures with the number plate.

No! If not more, cos it's so unique.

If it was ever up for sale. I do get asked regularly.

And the answer is just no. So it's not, not at any price.

CORK POPS Good.

It is a very good sound, isn't it? That's a really good sound.

I've missed that... I've missed that sound.

So, I think we're deciding between two,

so it's just that's a question of which one,

but maybe this will make the decision easier.

Boodles are finding they now have one sparkling advantage

over their bigger competitors.

INDISTINCT CHATTER AND LAUGHTER

A glass of bubbly maybe?

Ironically, we're one of the few jewellers in Bond Street

who are not dependent on overseas people.

I mean, most of the jewellers down here

do the majority of their business with Middle East, Asia,

and we'd love some of those customers, we'd love...

We've really wanted those customers for years and years,

but now, we're quite grateful for what we've got,

which is principally British customers.

And if they're stuck in the UK,

why not come to London for a day or two or three?

Unlike Boodles, Bonhams positively relies on international buyers,

and bidders for the Bond car are phoning in from across the world.

Rob, the car's owner, and his wife have made it up from Bristol.

Without a Bond connection, his car would be worth around £30,000.

Very excited, yeah.

MICHAEL: If it sells well, will you be celebrating tonight?

Erm... I think so, yes.

We were rather hoping to go for a meal, but...

of course, we can't now. Yeah.

Well, this car belongs to that select band of movie cars

that have featured in the James Bond series of films.

It's one of only three ordered specifically for the film,

long-term current ownership and, well, who will start me at £80,000?

At £80,000.

80,000, straight in, thank you, at 80,000, we are bid.

At £80,000 and going.

At 80,000. 85,000 bid. Thank you, at 85,000.

85,000, 90,000.

90,000. 90,000, 95,000.

95 is bid. 95, 100,000.

100,000. Online's lit up. 100,000.

Selling all the way, 100,000.

Any more bids at 100... And 10,000 bid.

110, your bid, at 110. Any advance?

120, sir. 110, 120, I've got.

120 just before you, Richard, 120,000.

120,000. 150, sir.

150,000?! 150.

Well, why not? 150,000.

Well... That's designed to, er, intimidate.

Has it worked? 150,000.

160,000. 160.

170. 170.

180. 180,000.

200, sir. 200,000.

200,000.

200 with us. 200,000.

220. We'll keep it in 20.

230, sir? 230.

240,000. 240.

250. 250.

250 with us. 250,000.

260. 260's bid. 270?

Bonhams out back at 260,000.

270. 270,000.

280,000. 280,000.

290, sir. 290.

290 for us. 290,000.

Telephone against you online.

300,000 bid.

305, sir?

305. 305 with us.

Might be on the ropes there. 305.

So, next will be 310.

310, they... OK.

310.

Undoubtedly a record for the model, £310,000 and selling...

GAVEL BANGS Sold, 310,000.

APPLAUSE

It's brilliant, a nice story. It's going to Switzerland.

The place that made it famous.

Very pleased. It is quite a bit higher than the reserve

and what we were expecting and, yes, erm...

still in shock, total shock at the moment.

Yeah, I think we're a bit numb. SHE LAUGHS

MICHAEL: What are your plans?

Definitely a bottle of champagne. We'll start with that.

# You'll be swell

# You'll be great

# Gonna have the whole world On a plate

# Starting here... #

Bond Street is back in business.

# Starting here, starting now

# Honey, everything's Coming up roses... #

There we are.

The team are buzzing.

People have been wanting to get back to some sense of normality,

and actually, for some of our clients,

coming in to see their sales associate in a private room

is the most normal thing they could have done in 16 weeks.

# Curtain up Like the lights... #

GAVEL BANGS AUCTIONEER: 9,000 it is. Thank you.

At his pop-up shop, Bernard Shapero

has just made a sale of £22,000 for an old map of London,

one of his most popular lines.

We sold our big map front of the shop,

which has now been replaced

by another slightly smaller map of London.

The stock market has boomed,

assets have all gone up across the board, property...

all assets have gone up,

so people who had money have more money.

MICHAEL: Where is the iguana?

He's in the window. He's still available.

No, I think it was 950, wasn't it? 950? Ooh...

That was a snip. A snip, Michael.

Shall I... Shall I send an invoice?

# We've got nothing to hit But the heights... #

Have Boodles had a taker for their biggest asset?

Has any of you yet had any bites for the pink diamond?

We think we probably know... a dozen to 20 people

who... who could buy it, but we'll just have to see.

A lot of them haven't seen it yet, but, you know, don't worry.

In the next few weeks and months,

we will be trying our damnedest to show it to them.

But the last word goes to the one person who actually lives here.

I wouldn't be able to get a cup of sugar,

let alone a pint of milk.

I can get a cup of diamonds.

I mean, since about 1800, it's always been about showing off,

always been about luxury.

It's not a flash in the pan. Do you think this street will last?

Absolutely. This street will be here when humanity is gone.

# Everything's coming up Sunshine and Santa Claus

# Everything's gonna be Bright lights and lollipops

# Everything's coming up roses

# For me and for you! #

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