Vautrollier Gold Puritan Watch This small, plain gold-cased watch, made around 1625 by James Vautrollier, is a sublime example of an English Puritan watch. It is identified as such because it is made from high-quality materials, it is functional, no detail is superfluous, and it possesses an understated beauty.[1] It would have been very costly, despite its lack of decoration. Vautrollier was a gifted London-based watchmaker of likely Huguenot descent. He probably produced this watch at the start of the reign of King Charles I – a period of turmoil in England, driven by economic insecurity as well as religious and political tensions. These forces shaped and fueled the popularity of the Puritan style, a visual language defined by decorative restraint and sobriety. The fact that this outstanding watch, with its case and dial plate composed of high-purity gold, has survived until today is truly remarkable. As it happens, very few gold Puritan watches survive, because most were melted down to keep up with changing fashions or to address a scarcity of resources during times of crisis. No one knows how or why this particular watch escaped the fate of so many others of its kind. The details of this watch are provided below, together with an exploration of the ideas underlying the Puritan style, and the historical forces that affected both its popularity and the survival of watches reflecting this aesthetic. A sublime Puritan watch The Vautrollier Gold Puritan Watch combines understated beauty, exceptional quality and practical functionality in a single elegant object. As noted above, its double case and dial plate are made of high-purity gold. It not only tells the time but also includes a calendar indicating the date. Aside from a few informative engravings on the dial plate, the watch is undecorated. This choice of understatement draws attention to the seamless design of the latch-locked outer case, the inner case with its hinged lid, the inset dust shutter, and the distinctive bowl-shaped back. The gold chapter ring on the dial features engraved Roman numerals and half-hour markers. Arabic numerals from 1 to 31, representing the days of the month, are engraved upon the outer silver calendar ring. Above XII is an additional engraving in the form of a hand, which indicates the date by pointing to the relevant numeral in the calendar ring. In keeping with the Puritan style, simplicity is key: the watch incorporates only the essential design elements, each serving a specific purpose. Horologist Dr John C Taylor explains in the Clocktime video that accompanies this exhibit, the calendar ring complication is operated manually: … not driven by the watch. When the owner woke up in the morning, he would then move the calendar ring one day further on. Additionally, its movement is skilfully designed within the limits of the horological technology available at the time. When this watch was made, precision timekeeping had not yet developed sufficiently for the inclusion of a minute or seconds hand to make much sense. Still, expensive and experimental complications often appeared on contemporaneous early British verge watches such as the Lennox Pluvier Watch (exhibited on Clocktime), which includes a seconds hand on its backplate and was made around 1665 by Isaac Pluvier. This is why Vautrollier’s Gold Puritan Watch includes no optional extras or expensive novelties. In this vein, the time on the Vautrollier Gold Puritan Watch is indicated by a single hour hand on its dial. Overall, Vautrollier’s conservative approach to making is in keeping with the overarching Puritan design principle (discussed below) that all objects must be well made and useful. Thus, this early verge watch functions simply and reliably as a timekeeper. It is highly likely that this watch was commissioned for, or by, a gentleman of Puritan faith. It would have been worn it on a chain around the neck or secured it around the waist, as was the custom of the day. Protestant reaction The development of the Puritan style is linked to the spread of the Protestant Reformation across Europe during the 1500s and 1600s. In terms of watch design, specifically, this aesthetic also a represented a rejection of the ornate and ostentatious designs that characterised many of early timekeepers. Since their invention around 1500, watches were actively coveted and presented as objects of splendour to express status and curry court favours.[2] They first appeared in the decidedly Catholic royal courts of Europe during the early 1500s, as the possessions of monarchs and of the elite – the only people able to afford such marvels. Subsequent developments in watchmaking were largely driven by courtly patronage, fuelled by social competition and the conspicuous consumption of the European ruling classes. Throughout the 1600s, early verge watches continued to function as courtly objects and diplomatic gifts. These timepieces were often sumptuously decorated and fitted with numerous complications. They remained extraordinarily expensive and regarded as the latest technological wonders, even though – by modern standards – they were neither particularly accurate nor especially reliable. As mentioned above, precision timekeeping had not yet advanced far enough for some of these complications to be genuinely useful.[3] Still, these portable timekeepers were coveted for being the first of their kind and were seen as emblems of luxury. During this period, Puritan watches began to appear. They differed markedly from earlier watches in terms of both appearance and functionality, because Puritans rejection decoration, ostentation and frivolous novelties. Such features were viewed in moral terms as vulgar and irreligious – fundamentally at odds with the Puritan worldview. Thus, in watchmaking, the Puritan style developed as a deliberate counterpoint to the aesthetic excess that characterised the courtly watches described above. Still, Puritans were not opposed to the creation of objects that were beautiful and made from fine, high-quality materials.[4] In fact, they greatly valued craftmanship and encouraged the making of useful objects that were thoughtfully designed. In keeping with these principles, Puritan watches were typically egg-shaped with plain undecorated cases and no ornamental engraving. They had clean, simple lines, were functional, and could be made of gold, silver, or gilt metal. English Puritan watches: a moment in time As previously noted, the Vautrollier Gold Puritan Watch is a very early example of an English watch made in the Puritan style. This aesthetic first appeared in Britain in the early 1600s, gaining momentum in the decades leading up to the English Civil Wars (1642–1651) and continuing into the English Commonwealth period from 1649 to 1660. In Britain, the evolution of this style of watch was certainly a reaction against the extravagantly decorated timepieces seen at court during the early 1600s, such as the highly complex King James Portrait Watch, created around 1618 by David Ramsay, and the exquisitely decorated Miniature Rock Crystal Watch, made around 1635 by Edward East, both of which are exhibited on Clocktime. The simplicity and restraint epitomised by Puritan watches are qualities associated with the broader Puritan style. This aesthetic is best understood as a material reflection of the values of the Protestant Reformation, translating its core principles into visual and cultural form. The decades surrounding the making of the Vautrollier Gold Puritan Watch were marked by significant religious and political upheaval, including growing tensions between Puritans and the Stuart monarchy, the outbreak of the English Civil Wars, and the establishment of the Puritan-dominated Commonwealth – all of which contributed to a cultural climate in which plainness and moral seriousness were especially valued The Protestant Reformation began to take institutional hold in England in 1534, when King Henry VIII severed ties with Rome and declared himself head of the Church of England. Although the threat of Catholic uprising would resurface dramatically at various points over the following century, the break with Rome set England firmly on the path to becoming a Protestant nation. Still, English Protestantism was never static, as English and wider European debates about Protestant philosophy and practice were constantly evolving. Influenced by developments both at home and abroad, English Protestantism shifted over time. Some of these shifts were subtle, while others were more pronounced and more threatening to the status quo. In 1625, around the time that the Vautrollier Gold Puritan Watch was made, King James VI and I died, and his son Charles, acceded to the throne. It soon became clear that the reign of Charles I would have a different character from that of his predecessor. Charles embarked on costly and ill-fated military ventures, asserted sweeping powers grounded in his belief that kings were appointed by God, and spent extravagantly at court. Many Protestants were troubled by the King’s openness to Arminian theological ideas, which they regarded as dangerous.[5] Arminianism is based on the ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (b. 10 October 1560, d. 19 October 1609), who argued that humans possess free will and can thus choose to accept the divine grace that God offers to all. At the time, this position directly contradicted the Calvinist doctrine of predestination. Unsurprisingly, Arminianism proved extremely controversial within Reformed Protestant circles. Charles’s support for it certainly contributed to the breakdown of his relationship with Parliament from 1629. The escalating conflict between the King and his parliamentarian opponents eventually led to the eruption of the English Civil Wars (1642–1651) and culminated in Charles’s execution for high treason in 1649. Charles’s sympathy for Arminianism also prompted many within Parliament and the wider Puritan community to reaffirm strict Reformed Protestant practices, a reaction that helped shape the emergence of a distinctly English Puritan style. This aesthetic is also evident in English clock-case design of the period. The undecorated clean-lined ebonised box case for Ahasuerus Fromanteel’s Pendulum Box Clock, made around 1659 and exhibited on Clocktime, provides a clear example. It was not until the Commonwealth period (also known as the Interregnum), probably not long after Vautrollier’s death and some twenty or so years after he had created this Gold Puritan Watch, that the English Puritan style entered in its zenith. Horological examples from this period include the two silver Puritan watches made by East around 1640. One of these is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (Accession number 17.190.1468a,b), and the other is at the Science Museum in London (Object No. L2015-3100). A rare survival: the melting down of plate During the turbulent years of the English Civil Wars and the Commonwealth period, and even into the reign of King Charles II (1660–1685), objects made of gold, silver and other metals – including currency – were frequently recalled and melted down to raise funds for the state at a time when materials were scarce.[6] Before being melted, the items were formally tested for purity in a process known as the assaying of plate (precious metals). Metal objects were also routinely recycled during this period to keep pace with changes in fashion. These practices help explain why surviving examples of gold Puritan watches are exceptionaly rare. Broadly speaking, this period was disastrous for the clockmakers and goldsmiths alike. For example, King Charles I extracted so many fees from the City of London and its guilds that the Goldsmiths’ Company was forced to resort to borrowing large amounts of money and was heavily indebted. Many of the goldsmiths’ major items of plate were sold simply to keep their company financially afloat.[7] Antiquarian Johnathan Carter observes that ‘the clockmakers must have been even harder hit than the plate-workers; in hard times they could realise the value in their precious metal stock, but not so the clockmakers’.[8] This is perhaps why most surviving Puritan watches are made from gilt metal, silver or silver gilt, an example being the silver Puritan watch made by East around 1640, mentioned above. Perhaps Vautrollier’s Gold Puritan Watch survived because it was guarded, hidden or ferried out of the country, somehow kept from the grasping hands of Parliamentarians and Roundheads, who were constantly strapped for the funds needed to maintain their armies. In light of the above political climate and economic instability of the period, the survival of Vautrollier’s Gold Puritan Watch is truly extraordinary. Vautrollier’s hidden flourishes Only a handful of Vautrollier’s watches survive. In addition to the Vautrollier Gold Puritan Watch, these include a decorated gilt and silver watch made around 1620 and now kept at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (mentioned above); a watch with a plain round silver case, housed at the Clockmakers’ Museum/Science Museum in London (also mentioned above); and a gilt metal engraved verge watch, also at the Clockmakers’ Museum/Science Museum in London (Object Number: L2015-3582). These are all datable to the 1620s and 1630s. Based on this information, Vautrollier appears to have been at the height of his career during this time. James Vautrollier was probably born in London between 1585 and 1595. It has been speculated that he was closely related to the French Huguenot refugee and printer Thomas Vautrollier, who had settled in London in the latter half of the 1500s. It is not known where James received his training, but it seems likely that he learned his craft from a watchmaker in Blackfriars – an area renowned at the time as a hub of highly skilled Huguenot artisans. This would not have been unusual; many London-based watchmakers of Huguenot descent received their training in Blackfriars, one example being Isaac Pluvier (b. c1615, d. 1665), who learned his craft from David Boquet, a celebrated master watchmaker. One of Vautrollier’s first appearances in the historical record is around 1622, when he is identified as an ‘alien’ working ‘without Temple Bar’. The term ‘alien’ denotes his Huguenot identity, as workers of Huguenot heritage (and training) were regarded as foreign workers during this time. Even so, by this time Vautrollier must have been well-established as a watchmaker as he was one of sixteen clock- and watchmakers to petition King James VI and I to charter their own livery company, the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers.[9] Although the visible elements of the watch, specifically its double case and dial plate, embody the austerity of Puritan design, Vautrollier concealed an astonishing level of ornamentation in its hidden workings. He meticulously tapered, turned and pierced the four Egyptian pillars that hold together the plates of the watch’s oval gilt movement. He also added tiny highlight engravings to the outer face of each pillar – details that only the owner and those who serviced the watch would ever see. The construction of the movement itself is a remarkable achievement. The above-mentioned pillars are riveted to the top plate and pinned to the bottom plate, as screws had not yet been invented. To accomplish this, Vautrollier would have had to make his own tiny saw blades and files. Vautrollier also used the backplate of the movement to further display his engraving skill. Mounted on the backplate is a worm and countwheel set-up, which is flanked by two pierced and lyrically engraved blued-steel scrolling brackets. Then, just below the countwheel, is a pin-secured, gilt balance cock that has been exquisitely cut, pierced and engraved with scrolls and flowers. A final flourish of expression is on display in the lower third of the backplate, where Vautrollier’s boldly engraved signature, James Vautrollier Fecit, occupies the entirety of this space. The patchy story of a historically important watch Regrettably, no details survive concerning the commissioning of this watch. We do not know who its original owner was, nor how it survived through the volatile times described above. Perhaps the watch’s owner saved it from the widespread recycling of plate by retreating to a country estate as the Civil Wars raged, or even by leaving the country altogether. It is likely that we will never know this timepiece’s early story. This rare and historically and technically significant watch does not officially appear in the historical record until 1978, when it is listed as part of the Edward Hornby Collection.[10] Hornby (b. 1908, d. 1998) was a lawyer and pre-eminent collector of rare and important pocket watches in the post–World War II era. His historic collection represented forty years of careful acquisitions. It included numerous magnificent early watches alonside the Vautrollier Gold Puritan Watch. The Edward Hornby Collection was sold by Sotheby’s in December 1978. The auction catalogue was accompanied by a foreword from George Daniels, one of Britain’s most celebrated watchmakers. In it, he describes the sale as a rare opportunity to acquire some fine and interesting watches of types that had not been available for purchase for many years. The auction was a resounding success, as 75 of the 80 lots sold. As for the Vautrollier Gold Puritan Watch, its estimated value was £6,000 and its sold price was £11,500. Following this sale, the watch spent the next 20 years or so in collection at the Time Museum in Rockford, USA (Inventory No. 4453). In 1999, following the closure of the Museum, the Vautrollier Gold Puritan Watch became part of the John C. Taylor Collection, where it stayed until 2022. It has since found a new home in private collection. Dr Kristin Leith, Curator of Clocktime February 2025 End Notes [1] Carter 2022, 18–23, Catalogue No. 3; Garnier and Hollis 2018, 128, Catalogue No. 6.; Loomes 2014, 498; Taylor et al. 2019, 15, Exhibition No.2:3; White 1989, 51. [2] Koeppe 2019; Plassmeyer 2019. [3] This is particularly the case for early verge watches made with minute or seconds hands, such as the Lennox Pluvier Watch, which was made by Isaac Pluvier around 1665 and is exhibited on Clocktime. [4] Although his public image is often bound up with popular notions of Puritanical restraint and a disdain for ostentation, even Oliver Cromwell – the controversial Lord Protector of England’s Commonwealth from 1653 until his death in 1658 – still appreciated fine craftsmanship and took a keen interest in the mechanical marvels of his day, namely watches and clocks. He was a champion of Ahasuerus Fromanteel, one of the most celebrated and innovative clockmakers of his day; favoured pocket watches in the Puritan style; and clearly understood the political value of cultivating alliances with the powerful guilds and their illustrious members, including the wealthy and successful clockmaker Edward East, who belonged to both the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers and the Goldsmith’s Company. For watches that have been linked to Cromwell, read his story here on Clocktime. [5] Sharpe 1997, 16. [6] Carter 2022, 21; Taylor et al. 2019, 15. [7] During the Civil Wars, the Goldsmiths’ Company court records show that ‘assaying of plate’ was all but stopped. Members of the Company, and the clockmakers, must have been greatly relieved when the market began to stabilise. For a history of the Goldsmiths’ Company, visit their website. [8] Carter 2021, 34. [9] It was not until 1631 that King Charles I, the son of King James VI and I, granted the clockmakers’ petition and chartered the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers. You can read more about the founding of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers here. [10] Carter 2022, 22. References Carter, J. 2021. The John C Taylor Collection: Part I (Selling Exhibition Catalogue, Carter Marsh & Co). Winchester: Carter Marsh & Co. Carter, J. 2022. The John C Taylor Collection: Part III (Selling Exhibition Catalogue, Carter Marsh & Co). Winchester: Carter Marsh & Co. Garnier, R. and L. Hollis. 2018. Innovation & Collaboration: The early development of the pendulum clock in London. Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd. Koeppe, W. 2019. Making Marvels: Science and splendour at the courts of Europe. New York, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Loomes, Brian. 2014. Clockmakers of Britain: 1286 – 1700. Mayfield, Ashbourne: Mayfield Books, p. 498. Plassmeyer, P. 2019. ‘Scientific instruments as courtly objects’ in Making Marvels: Science and splendour at the courts of Europe. New York, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Sharpe, J. A. 1997. Early Modern England: A social history 1550 – 1760 (second edition). London: Arnold. Taylor, J. C. and K. Leith (with contributions by T. Phillipson). 2019. The Luxury of Time: Clocks from 1550–1750. Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd. White, George. 1989. The English Lantern Clock. Woodbridge: ACC Art Books.
