Katusha and the diamond watches

Do you like the watch here? It’s got more ice than a polar cap. Just look at all those diamonds on the face and they’re not just for show: they rotate along with the hands. It’s the Solitaire, by the Swiss watchmaker Sarcar. The price is unknown but another Sarcar model is mentioned by hip-hop mogul P-Diddy’s Sean John shop for sale at an ice-cool $300,000. Yes, that’s six figures.

Now expensive Swiss watches are nothing new. But if you must have one of these watches, there are several boutiques available. Or maybe you can try visiting the company’s HQ in Switzerland, the listed address is Route de Chêne 41A, Geneva 1208.

What’s this got to do with cycling?

The same address as the watchmaker is also the one given by the Katusha team. Visit their website, scroll down and the team is listed as “C/o Sarcar Tramex SA, 41A route de Chênes, 1208 Genève”. Note it’s precisely the same address as the watchmaker, the team’s isn’t sharing a different office because post goes c/o the company.

Winston Churchill famously described Russia as “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma“. Here we have a pro cycling team based in a letterbox inside a watchmaker.

Now this is just an administrative address. The team is registered in Russia and doesn’t even have its service course in Switzerland, instead that’s in Italy.

It is curious, why does a cycling team have a postbox with this luxury watch maker? Maybe it’s for tax but you’d think it would be registered with an accountant or a lawyer, not a watch company. I’ve asked, but all I’ve got back is confirmation that Sarcar is not a team sponsor although this confirmed the address is real, that the team is registered with a jeweller.

What does it mean?
Nothing really. But it’s odd to see one of the biggest budget teams in the sport, the self-stated “Russian global cycling project” getting its mail delivered to a third party. I’d love to know why a luxury watch company has lent its mailbox to a Russian cycling team.