Friday, February 14, 1997

Beyer Jewelers & Museum Celebrating 250 Years In Business: Zurich, Switzerland [Part 2 of 5]


[Part 2 of 5]



The photo below was taken in 1860 and the man sitting down is Stephan Beyer. Stephan Beyer is surrounded by his five sons and his son Theodor Beyer who started the Beyer Chronometrie store is pictured right of center with the pork-chop sideburns.



Beyer 1910

The three photos below of Beyer Chronometrie were taken in 1910 and in this first image we see Adelrich Beyer pictured on the left wearing the trench-coat. (Adelrich Beyer is Rene Beyer's Paternal great-grandfather). Notice the Patek Philippe name on front of the store.



Patek Philippe

Beyer has had an amazing relationship with Patek Philippe since 1842. If you are not familiar with Patek Philippe, it is considered in many ways to be the Rolls Royce of watches, much in the way Rolex would be considered the Mercedes Benz or watches.


The most amazing part of the Beyer relationship with Patek Philippe is that the great grand-parents of the the current CEO Rene Beyer were colleagues in the Patek Philippe workshop where they met and fell in love in 1880.



Beyer 1927

In 1927 Beyer moved from the location in the building above to the corner as we see in the photo below, where Beyer has remained until today.



Beyer Family 1930

The photo below is of the Beyer family in 1930 and shows young Theodor "Teddy Bear" Beyer with his mother and father. Theodor was born in 1926 and is the father of Rene who runs Beyer today.



Beyer Started Selling Rolex In 1932

Beyer became a Rolex authorized dealer in 1932 and have had an amazingly successful relationship ever since. Over the years Rolex made special models that featured the Beyer designation printed on the dial as seen below.



–The Founder Of Rolex–
Hans Wilsdorf with The Beyer Family

Hans Wilsdorf founded Rolex in London, England in 1908 and moved its headquarters to Geneva in 1928. Hans developed a relationship with Theodor Beyer and Beyer started selling Rolex watches in 1932. The letter below is from Hans Wilsdorf to Theodor Beyer and was written on August 19, 1933.

The photo below is from 1954 and shows Hans Wilsforf, with Emile Beyer and her son Theodor Beyer who went on to run Beyer. Theodor Beyer went to work at Beyer in 1946 and he is the father of the current CEO, Rene Beyer.



Beyer Storefront 1965

As we see in the photo below the Beyer storefront in 1965 had changed very little from 1927.



Beyer Interior 1970

As we see in the photo below, the Beyer store was very stylish and chic in 1970. Groovy Baby, Yeah!!!



Ursula Andres 1976

Beyer is an unusually discreet establishment, and many famous people have shopped at Beyer over the years. This includes Eric Clapton, Harrison Ford, Ursula Andres, Elton John, Pierce Brosnan, Horst Tappert, Jerry Lewis and even the Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Rolling Stones.



Rolex CEO Andre Heiniger

The Beyer family was close with Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex, and when Rene Beyer was a young man Rolex CEO Andre Heiniger gave him the stainless steel Rolex Oysterquartz Datejust in the picture below.



The Beyer Family In 1992

In the photo below we see Rene Beyer with his mother Annette and father Theodor Beyer. Theodor "Teddy Bear" Beyer was renowned around Zurich, Switzerland for being an extremely nice and generous man. Theodor Beyer was also responsible for bringing the private Beyer collection to share with the public when he oversaw the design and opening of the Beyer Museum in 1971. Theodor passed away in 2002, leaving his son Rene in charge.



The Beyer Family Today

In the photo below we see Annette Beyer with her son Rene Beyer who is the CEO of Beyer, Zurich. Annette Beyer was the person who came up with the idea for Beyer to start selling and manufacturing ladies jewelry. The jewelry division has been extremely successful over the years. Annette Beyer still visits the store regularly to share her insight with her son Rene.