Historically important French gold/platinum Cartier Circa 1910

Unique open faced lever watch by Cartier
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A unique, historically important Cartier pocket watch with original box, gift of the English Royal House under George V. as the Emperor of India, to an Indian House of Princes, including documentation from the archives of Cartier circa 1910.
A super-thin version, 18K gold, platinum and grey-blue enamel, both sides engine-turned enamel with white rim, back applied with platinum Indian Prince’s monogram with sword and Crown, completely set with rose-cut diamonds, super-thin version, Cartier precision lever movement, top quality with stripe decoration, 18 jewels, adjusted in 8 positions,  original engine-turned dial, signed Cartier Paris, blued Breguet steel hands, signed original box, wonderful original condition.
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Diameter: 44 mm
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Weight: 47 g
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Signed: Cartier Paris
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The following Cartier archive information is available to us: “This is a unique piece manufactured by Cartier in 1910/1911. The pocket watch was a gift from the English royal family to one of the many Indian prince’s dynasties that belonged to the British empire from 1858 to 1947 and was run as a crown colony under British India”. The peculiarity of the British-Indian relationship was that only half of the country was directly British ruled; the rest was under the influence and rule of the Houses of Princes. To maintain personal loyalty and the relationship with the English Crown, it was common that lavish gifts were regularly given to these prince’s families. 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. The trip lasted 16 days. To his surprise, he noted that the Maharadjas who welcomed him to their empire were mostly interested in pocket watches, which were popular in Paris and London at the time.” According to Nadelhoffer “Cartier”, the following order can be found among other things in the Cartier archive documents: “A blue enamelled pocket watch, made for the Maharadja of Kapurthala”, whose coat of arms is decorated with a sword and a crown and who received the title of Maharadja in 1911. So this watch, which was made in the same year, could be exactly this one!