This watch is the most complicated Indian market watch to have ever been sold at auction. It has the rare feature of a central progressive minute recording hand. This, along with the chronograph hand, gives the appearance of a being a split seconds chronograph. The design of the present watch recalls the height of the British Raj in India. It depicts a fashionable English couple out riding, along with the oak leaf and riding accessories. It is likely that the jockey?s cap shows the racing colors of the original purchaser. This combination of Swiss manufacture and English taste is peculiar to the Indian Market and was one aspect of the so-called ?Swiss period? which of course includes the watches produced in Switzerland, with cases decorated purely in the Indian manner. The ruling Indian classes on the whole embraced the English gentry and actively participated in traditional English pastimes. Perhaps this watch was made for presentation to a Maharaja at a special race or equestrian event. On 1st January 1877 Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India at a Durbar, or assembly of notables and princes, in Delhi. The Sovereign, who, incidentally never visited her Indian Empire, was represented by the Viceroy Lord Lytton. The Queen sent a telegram, which read; ?We, Victoria, by the grace of God, Empress of India, and through our Viceroy, to all our officers, civil and military, and to all princes, chiefs, and peoples now at Delhi assembled, send our Royal and Imperial greeting, and assure them of the deep interest and earnest affection with which we regard the people of our Indian Empire. 108 C 2 D 2 - 01 M 3* Estimate: * * * (details of the movement) We have witnessed with heartfelt satisfaction the reception they have accorded to our beloved son, and have been touched by their loyalty and attachment to our House and Throne. We trust the present occasion may tend to unite in bonds of yet closer affection ourselves and our subjects, that from the highest to the humblest all may feel that under our rule the great principles of liberty, equity and justice are secured to them, and that to promote their happiness, to add to their prosperity, and advance their welfare, are the ever-present aims and objects of our Empire'. The Princely States, bound by treaty to the crown, preserved control over their domestic affairs. Control over the directly ruled territories (about three fifths of the total area) was exercised by the Secretary of State for India. The Sovereign being represented by a Governor General or Viceroy, who being assisted by a council ruled India. The administration was staffed by the Indian Civil Service. The Indian Army, with British officers in charge ensured the Raj's security in conjunction with a British Army garrison. The Raj ended in 1947 with the partitioning and subsequent granting of independence to India and Pakistan on 15th August 1947. For a biography of Henry Grandjean & Cie., see lot 107. The Nizams of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, on the River Musi five miles east of Golconda, was founded in 1591-92 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah. In the 16th century the city grew to accommodate the surplus population of Golconda, which was the capital of the Qutb Shahi rulers. Many buildings sprang up along the River Musi. The Qutb Shahi dynasty founded the Kingdom of Golconda, one of the five kingdoms that emerged after the break up of the Bahamani Kingdom. The Qutb Shahis ruled the Deccan for almost 171 years. All the seven rulers were patrons of learning and were great builders. They contributed to the growth and development of Indo-Persian and Indo-Islamic literature and culture in Hyderabad. During the Qutb Shahi reign, Golconda became one of the world?s leading markets for diamonds, pearls, steel for arms, and also printed fabric. The seven Nizams of the Asif Jahi dynasty ruled the Deccan for nearly 224 years, right up to 1948. During the Asif Jahi period, Persian, Urdu, Telgu and Marathi developed simultaneously. The highest official positions were given to deserving persons irrespective of their religion. Persian was the official language up to 1893 and then Urdu up to 1948. When the British and the French spread their hold over the country, the Nizam soon won their friendship without bequeathing his power. The title "Faithful. Ally of the British Government" was bestowed on Nizam VII. The British stationed a Resident at Hyderabad, but the state continued to be ruled by the Nizam. The incalculable wealth of the Asaf Jah Dynasty. The collection of jewels of the Nizams of Hyderabad is one of the finest in the world. In addition to turban ornaments, gem-set and enameled necklaces, earrings, armbands, bracelets, belts and other items of jewelry, it includes twenty-two unset emeralds and the fabled 184.50 carat Jacob Diamond - a magnificent South African gem believed to have been used by the last Nizam as a paperweight! After the integration of Hyderabad state into the Union of India in 1950. Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan instituted a jewelry trust to which he assigned the most important items from the Hyderabad treasury, with the stipulation that they could only be sold after his death. In the nearly three decades since 1972 (when the collection was first offered to the government of India), the unfolding drama of the Nizam's jewels entailed court cases, intrigue, conflicting decisions and colossal expenses.