The sobriquet "Puritan" has always been applied to the absolutely plain watches made in England during the second quarter of the 17th century. Following the execution of Charles I in 1649, Britain was ruled by Oliver Cromwell under the title of Protector. Puritanism was the ethos of the day with any ostentatious display of wealth being greatly frowned upon. In fact, the plain "puritan" style was introduced circa 1840, as a result of a drain upon the finances of the Court and aristocracy caused bthe cost of supporting the king in the civil war. It is well recorded that big amounts of jewelry and objects of precious metal were scrapped to realize funds; a plain silver case watch would therefore have represented a much cheaper alternative, and be more in keeping with the austerity of the time. To find one of these watches in its original box is extremely difficult.This watch is published in the Ruscitti book, as no. 3.