Shirley Bassey’s ‘Baignoire’ Breaks Auction Record
Part of the Welsh singer’s extensive jewelry collection, the bathtub-shaped Cartier watch went for nearly $72,000 at Sotheby’s Paris.

The “Collection of Dame Shirley Bassey,” the award-winning Welsh singer known for her performance of “Diamonds Are Forever,” garnered €2.2 million ($2.4 million), just above its expected total of €2.1 million.
“I fell in love with jewelry when I first discovered natural pearls as an up-and-coming singer, and I bought myself my first string of pearls—the first piece of jewelry I’d ever bought,” Bassey said in a release when the auction was first announced earlier this year.
“However, I quickly graduated to my lifelong passion for diamonds, which preceded the recording of ‘Diamonds Are Forever.’ In fact, I accepted to sing the song because it rang true to me and the way I felt about diamonds then and now.”
While a number of Bassey’s diamond pieces went for hundreds of thousands of dollars at Sotheby’s Paris, it was actually the 87-year-old singer’s relatively plain watch that broke a world record.
Bassey’s Cartier “Baignoire” with a white gold case and black leather strap sold for €66,000 ($71,712), blowing away its pre-sale estimate of €1,500-€3,000 and making it the most expensive “Baignoire” ever sold at auction.
Named for its shape (“baignoire” is French for bathtub), Cartier first created this style in the early 1900s. It brought back the “Baignoire” to much fanfare at Watches & Wonders Geneva in 2023.
Other pieces from Bassey’s collection that outperformed at auction include a vintage Van Cleef & Arpels diamond cluster ring from the 1960s that Elton John gave to the singer. It sold for €48,000 ($52,071), more than three times its high estimate.
A buyer bought her bow-shaped diamond brooch from 1905 for €162,000 ($175,742), nearly five times its high estimate, while another paid €174,000 ($188,754) for the Van Cleef & Arpels emerald and diamond necklace Bassey bought herself to commemorate her first Royal Variety Performance in front of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The pre-sale estimate on that piece was €50,000-€70,000.
Held Oct. 10, Sotheby’s Paris Fine Jewels sale totaled nearly €6.5 million ($7.1 million), with more than half of the lots topping their highest pre-auction estimates.
It’s the highest total ever for a Sotheby’s jewelry sale held in Paris.
The auction broke several brand-specific records too.

Sotheby’s said a circa-1928 Cartier “Tutti Frutti” bracelet became the most valuable Cartier lot ever sold at its Paris location.
A buyer paid €480,000 ($520,487) for the piece, making it the sale’s top lot overall.
A Georges Fouquet aquamarine, onyx, and diamond brooch that went for €126,000 ($136,654) became the most valuable Georges Fouquet piece sold by Sotheby’s Paris, while the sale also set a new record for the auction house when it comes to bracelets from Van Cleef & Arpels.
A buyer paid €240,000 ($260,244) for a sapphire and diamond “Boucle” bracelet from the brand, making it the most valuable Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet ever sold at Sotheby’s Paris and the auction’s third highest-grossing lot.
The Latest

Plus, parent company Saks Global announces plans to cut ties with up to 600 vendors.

Peter Smith joined Michelle Graff to chat about the state of brick-and-mortar stores and share a few book and podcast recommendations.

The necklace features a candy-colored Australian white opal in 18-karat Fairmined gold, as the brand was named a Fairmined ambassador.

Gain access to the most exclusive and coveted antique pieces from trusted dealers during Las Vegas Jewelry Week.

Sponsored by the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch Show


The designer has taken the appeal of freshly picked fruit and channeled it into a capsule collection of earrings, necklaces, and pendants.

The country’s gem and jewelry exports fell 5 percent year-over-year last month, while imports declined 18 percent.

Supplier Spotlight Sponsored by GIA

Around 54 million Americans and counting live with a disability. Here’s how to make your jewelry store and website more accessible.

The event is also accepting poster submissions now through June 16.

Before Pope Leo XIV was elected, a centuries-old procedure regarding the late pontiff’s ring was followed.

While the product has entrenched itself in the market, retailers and consultants are assessing the next phase of the category’s development.

The police are trying to identify the man suspected of robbing two Tiffany & Co. locations in the area.

The well-known Maine jeweler takes over for Brian Fleming and will serve a one-year term.

The donation was the result of the brand’s annual Earth Day Ingot event.

Located in NorthPark Center, the revamped store is nearly 2,000 square feet larger and includes the first Tudor boutique in Dallas.

The nonprofit has made updates to the content in its beginner and advanced jewelry sales courses.

BIJC President Malyia McNaughton will shift roles to lead the new foundation, and Elyssa Jenkins-Pérez will succeed her as president.

As a nod to the theme of JCK Las Vegas 2025, “Decades,” National Jeweler took a look back at the top 10 jewelry trends of the past 10 years.

The company plans to halt all consumer-facing activity this summer, while Lightbox factory operations will cease by the end of the year.

Following weekend negotiations, the tax on Chinese goods imported into the United States will drop by 115 percent for the next 90 days.

“Artists’ Jewelry: From Cubism to Pop, the Diane Venet Collection” is on view at the Norton Museum of Art through October.

The deadline to submit is June 16.

Moti Ferder stepped down Wednesday and will not receive any severance pay, parent company Compass Diversified said.

Lichtenberg partnered with luxury platform Mytheresa on two designs honoring the connection between mothers and daughters.

The miner announced plans to recommence open-pit mining at Kagem.

Michel Desalles allegedly murdered Omid Gholian inside World of Gold N Diamond using zip ties and then fled the country.