Sandoz is a Spanish watch brand that was originally founded as Henri Sandoz & Cie. in the 1870s by Le Locle resident Henri Frédéric Sandoz. The company has since operated under a variety of names including Cyma, Tavannes Watch Co., Henry Sandoz & Fils, Tavannes-Cyma, Bijou Watch Co., Tacy Watch Co., and Lisca.
The Sandoz name was licensed out to four areas of production in 1971, leading to the creation of four different brands: Sandoz Singapore, Sandoz Hong Kong, Sandoz Swiss, and Sandoz Spain. While all four share the same name, they each carry their own range of watches. Sandoz Spain was acquired by the Munreco Group in 2000, which also owns Mark Maddox and Viceroy.
Sponsoring Fernando Alonso
Two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso was personally sponsored by Sandoz Spain during the 2005 and 2006 seasons while driving for the Mild Seven Renault F1 team. A stock photo found on Alamy suggests that the partnership may have been announced at Baselworld 2005. The brand website’s page of TV spots still features Alonso, while the Spanish driver’s IMDb page further supports the partnership with documented ad appearances in 2005 and 2006. Numerous Fernando Alonso models were released during this time, including championship editions.
The Sandoz logo appears on Fernando Alonso’s race suit, while sharing a podium with Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button in 2005. (Photo: by http://formula1photos.tn38.net/, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons)
It’s worth noting that the Renault team was sponsored by Chronotech during the same time frame, with some commemorative models documenting race wins and podium finishes. The unique arrangement meant that Alonso’s name made appearances on the case back of two different brands of watches during this time.
Related Pages
References
https://www.sandoz.es/en/spots-sandoz
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandoz
https://www.alamy.com/juan-palacios-president-of-watchmaker-sandoz-left-hands-over-the-new-watch-to-spanish-formula-one-driver-fernando-alonso-renault-during-the-presentation-of-the-new-watch-collection-of-watchmaker-sandoz-named-after-him-at-the-jewellery-and-watch-fair-baselworld-in-basle-switzerland-monday-april-4-2005-ap-photokeystonepatrick-straub-image542324916.html
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1898955/otherworks/