Swiss gold split-seconds lever chronograph with counter Circa 1925

Gold open faced chronograph by Cartier
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A large and elegant Swiss 18 carat gold open faced split-seconds chronograph lever pocket watch with counter, circa 1925. Ultra-fine and extremely rare calibre with split-seconds chronograph and counter, lever escapement, Audemars Piguet calibre. Original silvered dial with Roman hours and Arabic five minutes, subsidiary seconds, original blued steel Breguet hands. Typical, super flat Cartier case with French gold punch for 18 carat gold watch cases. Dial signed. Comes with, presumably, the original box of the Royal Jeweller Hamilton & Co, India.
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Diameter: 51 mm
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Weight: 63 g
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Signed: Cartier Swiss
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Cartier pocket watches with a split-seconds chronograph are extremely rare. So far only a few examples are known.
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The Indian princes’ demand for the super elegant Cartier pocket watches was high. In Hans Nadelhoffer ‘Cartier’ it says: “…The first important contacts with the Maharajas were made during the celebrations of the George V coronation in 1911, the same year when Jacques Cartier made his first trip to India. To his surprise, he noted that the Maharajas who welcomed him to their empire were mostly interested in pocket watches, which were popular in Paris and London at that time.”