Roman Sharf

Sharf was born in the Soviet Union in the 1970s, later moving to the United States in 1998.^[4] He attended Penn State University, where he studied Computer Information Systems, and after his studies enlisted in the U.S. Army.^[5]

After his military service, Sharf initially pursued a career in finance, becoming a vice president in Deutsche Bank,^[6] and later moved to the luxury goods market, focusing on watches, jewelry and other valuable collectibles and in the early 2000s, established the luxury jewelry company Luxury Bazaar.^[7][8] The platform found success in the gray luxury market,^[9][10] and in 2024, Sharf announced plans to sell the company, valued at $130 million.^[2][11][12] He also launched a private wholesale platform designed specifically for dealers to trade luxury timepieces.^[13][14][15] Luxury Bazaar have faced criticism, particularly surrounding doing business of luxury items outside the official retail channel,^[16] his approach has drawn criticisms for providing items at lower prices than traditional retail stores.^[17][18][19] In 2024, Luxury Bazaar made a contribution of a Rolex Air-King watch to the WatchPro Awards.^[20][21][22] Sharf purchased the auctioned pair of Never Surrender High-Top.^[23][6][15]