Impressive English gold minute repeating pocket watch Circa 1924

Gold lever hunter with chronograph
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A heavy and impressive English 18K yellow gold hunting cased minute repeating keyless pocket watch, circa 1924. With a chronograph with a 60-minute register and a base 70mph tachometer. The Maharaja of Patiala by Garrard & Co, Ltd., By Appointment to H.M. The King, Crown Jewellers & Goldsmiths. 24 Albemarle Street, London. Case with London hallmarks for 1924. Presented to Dev Nath Purofit by H.H. Maharaja Dhiraj of Patiala in 1936. Probably custom ordered.
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The front cover with Royal blue enamelled monogram MBS under a matching crown-hinged gold cuvette with a presentation inscription. White enamel dial with large luminous Arabic numerals, outer minute track with outermost tachometer scale, inset subsidiary dials for constant seconds, 60-minute register and blued steel luminous skeleton hands. Three-quarter plate gilt movement, brass jewelled to the 3rd wheel, wolf’s tooth winding wheels, English lever escapement, engraved cock, cut and compensated bimetallic balance, with gold timing screws, blued steel double overcoil hairspring, diamond end-stone, index regulator. Dial and movement signed, case numbered and stamped with sponsors mark RN (Robert North).
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Thickness: 18.5 mm
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Diameter: 56 mm
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Weight: 194 g
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Signed: Garrard & Co.  London
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The Maharaja’s full title was: Lieut.-Gen. H. II. Farzand-i-Ikhas-i- Daulat-i-Inglishia, Mansure-i-Zaman, Amir-it-Umra, Maharaja Dhiraj Raj Rajeshwar Shree, Maharaja-i-Rajgan Maharaja Sir Bhupindra Singh, Mohinder Bahadur, Yacht Vanshavatans Bhatti Kul Bhushan, Maharaja Dhiraj of Patiala, G.C.S.I., G.C.V.O., G.B.E. He was ruling Prince of Patiala State from 1891 to 1938. The Princely State of Patiala is in Punjab, in N. W. India, and was the largest Sikh State. The British occupied Punjab in 1849 and later designated it a province. The Maharaja of Patiala appreciated precious objects, jewellery and of course watches. From about 1925 he is known to have been one of the great clients of Cartier and indeed commissioned Cartier to remodel his crown jewels, probably the biggest commission of all time in terms of quality and quantity.
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In 1929, before consigning the elegant re-workings to the Moil Bagh Palace in Patiala, Cartier organized a splendid exhibition of the Maharaja’s jewels, in Paris, at the rue de la Paix, which attracted wide publicity. As mentioned in an article in the Antiquarian Horologe issue of December 1984, the Maharaja had many interests among which shooting, cricket, polo and motoring, and he was one of the first in India to have an automobile, a French Dc Dion Bouton in 1898. He was also the first Indian prince to have a 20 h.p. Rolls Royce; (1922 Barker Tourer on a chassis 4’2 G2) Nine further examples of this model were added to his collection which at one time totalled thirty-eight Rolls Royce cars.
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Pocket watches of this complexity and quality are very rare to find from the London Royal Jewellers Garrard & Co. Considering the combined aspects of a luminous dial and chronograph tachometer scaled from *15-70mph over a ¼ mile distance, it can be reasonably assumed this was specially ordered by the Maharaja with these characteristics in 1924 for his personal use and later gifted in 1936 when pocket watches were considered unfashionable. Dev Nath Purohit was the author of the book Guide to Udaipur published in 1938.
* Drag races between two cars are usually held over a ¼ mile distance.