• Movement: gilded full plate oval, verge escapement, decoratively pierced and floral engraved pinned-on balance cock, plain flat steel balance, wheel and click set-up, fusee and gut line, round baluster pillars • movement signed Henry Beraud Fecit• Dial: silver, chapter ring engraved with Roman numerals and half-hour divisions, centre engraved with a townscape with trees beside a lake, dial edge engraved with flowers and foliage, blued steel floriate hand • Case: silver in the form of a fritillaria flower, the covers with chequered surface of alternating polished and cross-hatched squares, bud-form pendant, shuttered winding aperture in the form of a bud

The case of this watch is cast in the form of a Fritillaria Meleagris, also known as the Snake’s Head Fritillary, The flower has a distinctive bell-form with chequered petals. Noël Caperon, an apothecary from Orléans discovered the plant growing wild in the Loire and the plant is mentioned in letters that he wrote to the Flemish botanist Clusius in 1571 and 1572. In England, the plant was described by John Gerard in his book Herball first published in 1597. Indeed, the latter’s book has an engraving by William Rogers to the title page which depicts four male figures, one of whom is holding a Fritillaria Meleagris. A very similar watch to the present piece but with movement signed by Thomas Hande, may be found in the collections of the British Museum. The case back of Hande’s watch is almost identical to the present watch and it is therefore possible that the cases were produced from the same casting. Other forms of flower or bud-form cases popular during the mid 17^th century included the tulip and rose (see lot 14).  

In his book The Early Clockmakers of Great Britain (NAG Press 1981, p. 91), Brian Loomes notes that whilst Henry Beraud was never formally admitted to the Clockmakers’ Company, he was accepted by them and his own apprentice was presented to the Clockmakers’ Company in 1633. Beraud is believed to have died before 1662/63 (see op. cit).