Evan Zimmermann | |
|---|---|
 Evan Zimmermann | |
| Born | New York City |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, investor and philanthropist |
Evan Zimmermann is an American businessman, investor and philanthropist. [1] He was the president and CEO of Antiquorum, a Swiss auction house, established in 1974, that specializes in watches. [2] [3]
Zimmermann is known for developing and implementing brand growth strategies. In 2008, he purchased Antiquorum, an international auction house based in Switzerland, in a $30 million deal. [4] He subsequently strengthened the company's principal expertise by streamlining its irrelevant business lines and finances. [5]
Over the next 10 years, the company experienced growth in its auction sales from $37 million to $90 million. Zimmermann was instrumental in solidifying Antiquorum's position as the largest watch auction house in the world. [6] [7]
Under his management, Antiquorum sold Mahatma Gandhi's pocket watch for just under $2.1 million, [8] Steve McQueen's Rolex Submariner for $234,000 (more than 20 times its estimate), setting a new world record for its reference, [9] [10] and Albert Einstein's Longines wristwatch for $596,000 (over 2000 percent of its estimate). [11] [8] In February 2014 Zimmermann expressed his delight about the fervent participation of Asian clients in a Hong Kong auction of a Platinum Patek watch which sold for $800,000. [12]
In 2018, after an initial minority investment in the company's European operations, FIDES Business Partner, a private equity firm based in Zurich, Switzerland, bought Antiquorum from Zimmermann for $154 million. [7]
After the sale of Antiquorum, Zimmermann invested significantly in the IPO of Moderna, a then unknown pharmaceutical and biotech company. Moderna thereafter received FDA approval for one of the first COVID-19 vaccines, which sent it's share price soaring. [5]
Zimmermann has been recognized by Forbes as an important collector of vintage Rolex watches [13] and as one of the major investors in fashion industry startups. [7] He developed an interest in the fashion industry through his family brand Zimmermann, and has made investments in numerous companies, including Farfetch, Rent the Runway, and Glossier. [7]
In 2022, Zimmermann and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos were among several entrepreneurs who collectively invested £230 million into Altos Labs, an American biotech research company. [14] Altos Labs is a startup that focuses on developing therapies to reverse the aging process and extend human lifespan. [15] [16]
In 2021, Zimmermann, through his foundation Zimmermann Family Charitable Trust, donated $3 million to the University of California to support initiatives concerning the causes and aftermath of the Holocaust, as well as the examination of human rights, safeguarding minority rights, and addressing historical wrongs and injustices. [1]
In 2023, Zimmermann, through the Zimmermann Family Charitable Trust, pledged $2 million to Water Org. This funding aimed to enhance access to sustainable water and sanitation services in developing countries, where inefficient water infrastructure exacerbated climate impacts and limited access to clean water. [1]
Jeffrey Preston Bezos is an American businessman, media proprietor and investor. He is the founder, executive chairman, and former president and CEO of Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce and cloud computing company. He is the second wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of about US$205 billion as of April 5, 2024. He was also the wealthiest from 2017 to 2021, according to both the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and Forbes.
Rolex SA is a Swiss watch designer and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as Wilsdorf and Davis by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis in London, the company registered Rolex as the brand name of its watches in 1908 and became Rolex Watch Co. Ltd. in 1915. After World War I, the company moved its base of operations to Geneva because of the unfavorable economy in the United Kingdom. In 1920, Hans Wilsdorf registered Montres Rolex SA in Geneva as the new company name ; it later became Rolex SA. Since 1960, the company has been owned by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, a private family trust.
Omega SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848, the company formerly operated as La Generale Watch Co. until incorporating the name Omega in 1903, becoming Louis Brandt et Frère-Omega Watch & Co. In 1984, the company officially changed its name to Omega SA and opened its museum in Biel/Bienne to the public. Omega is a subsidiary of The Swatch Group.
Patek Philippe SA is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer, located in the Canton of Geneva and the Vallée de Joux. Established in 1839, it is named after two of its founders, Antoni Patek and Adrien Philippe. Since 1932, the company has been owned by the Stern family in Switzerland and remains the last family-owned independent watch manufacturer in Geneva. Patek Philippe is one of the oldest watch manufacturers in the world with an uninterrupted watchmaking history since its founding. It designs and manufactures timepieces as well as movements, including some of the most complicated mechanical watches. The company maintains over 400 retail locations globally and over a dozen distribution centers across Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania. In 2001, it opened the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.
Zenith SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker. The company was started in 1865 by Georges Favre-Jacot in Le Locle in the canton of Neuchâtel and is one of the oldest continuously operating watchmakers. Favre-Jacot invented the concept of "in house movements", believing that only through control of the entire watchmaking process could the highest quality be achieved. Zenith was purchased by LVMH in November 1999, becoming one of several brands in its watch and jewelry division, which includes TAG Heuer and Hublot. Benoit de Clerck is president and CEO.
Compagnie des Montres Longines, Francillon S.A., or simply Longines, is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Saint-Imier, Switzerland. Founded by Auguste Agassiz in 1832, the company has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Swatch Group and its predecessors since 1983. Its winged hourglass logo, registered in 1889, is the oldest unchanged active trademark registered with WIPO.
The Patek Philippe Calibre 89 is a commemorative pocket watch created in 1989, to celebrate the company's 150th anniversary. Declared by Patek Philippe as "the most complicated watch in the world" at the time of creation, it has 33 complications, weighs 1.1 kg, exhibits 24 hands and has 1,728 components in total, including a thermometer, and a star chart. Before Calibre 89, Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication had been the world’s most complicated timepiece ever assembled with a total of 24 different functions.
The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona is a mechanical chronograph wristwatch designed to meet the needs of racing drivers by measuring elapsed time and calculating average speed. Its name refers to Daytona, Florida, where racing flourished in the early 20th century. It has been manufactured by Rolex since 1963 in four distinct generations ; the second series was introduced in 1988, the third in 2000 and the fourth in 2023. While cosmetically similar, the second series introduced a self-winding movement, and the third series brought manufacture of the movement in-house to Rolex.
New Shepard is a fully reusable sub-orbital launch vehicle developed for space tourism by Blue Origin. The vehicle is named after Alan Shepard, who became the first American to travel into space and the fifth person to walk on the Moon. The vehicle is capable of vertical takeoff and landings. Additionally, it is also capable of carrying humans and customer payloads into a sub-orbital trajectory.
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner is a line of sports watches designed for diving and manufactured by Rolex, resistant to water and corrosion. The first Submariner was introduced to the public in 1954 at the Basel Watch Fair. It was the first watch to be waterproof up to 100 metres (330 ft). The Rolex Submariner is considered "a classic among wristwatches", manufactured by one of the most widely recognized luxury brands in the world. Due to its huge popularity, there are many homage watches by well-established watchmakers, as well as illegal counterfeits. The Rolex Submariner is part of Rolex's Professional line.
Hans Wilsdorf was a German businessman, best known as the founder of Rolex and Tudor. Wilsdorf's philosophy for the companies was 'only great marketing is needed to make a company successful'.
Universal Genève SA is a Swiss luxury watch company, founded in 1894 as Universal Watch. It is a subsidiary of Breitling SA. Since its beginnings, the company has produced complete watches with in-house movements. Along with neighboring Geneva companies Audemars Piguet, Girard-Perregaux, Patek Philippe and Rolex, Universal is internationally regarded for its style of craftsmanship as a manufacture d'horlogerie. Universal Genève is known for creating the first-ever chronograph in 1917.
Antiquorum is an auctioneer of modern and vintage timepieces. Established in Geneva in 1974, Antiquorum was the first auction house to auction fine watches over the Internet in the 1990s.
Czapek & Cie. is a Swiss watch brand named after the Polish watchmaker François Czapek.
Eleven James was an online subscription rental service for luxury watches. It was founded in 2013 in New York City and offers both men's and women's timepieces.
Amazon is an American multinational technology company which focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, and digital streaming. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world", and is one of the world's most valuable brands.
NotCo is a unicorn Chilean food-tech company producing plant-based alternatives to animal-based food products. NotCo was founded in 2015 by Matias Muchnick, Karim Pichara and Pablo Zamora, and utilizes machine learning to replicate dairy products in plant-based forms. NotCo is Latin America's fastest growing food company.
Bezos Expeditions is an American investment firm based in Mercer Island, Washington. It serves as a family office for Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos by managing his personal investments. The firm invests both in early and late stage ventures of companies in different sectors.
Altos Labs, Inc. is an American biotechnology research company. Altos Labs' goal is to develop life extension therapies that can halt or reverse the human aging process. Specialized cell therapies based on induced pluripotent stem cells are to be developed for this purpose. The company was started in 2022.