English silver verge watch in form of a tulip bud Circa 1650

Splendid and rare silver verge watch in form of a tulip bud
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An English silver verge pocket watch with full plate fire gilt oval movement, circa 1650, the back-plate with pierced and floral engraved screw on balance cock, ratchet set-up, gut line fusee, silver dial with a floral engraved centre and border, polished chapter ring with Roman numerals and quarter-hour divisions, single blued steel hand, silver case in the form of a Tulip bud, the pendant also of bud form.
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Diameter: 41 mm including pendant
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Width: 26 mm
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Signed: John Drake in fleet street
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John Drake became a Freeman of the Blacksmiths’ Company in 1605, a subscriber to the Clockmakers’ Company in 1630 and was active until after 1660. He seems to have been known for his poor temper, for when, in 1654, he was forced to pay fifteen years of quarterage arrears, he referred to a Warden as a ‘turd and a shitten fellow’. Cast in the form of a tulip bud, this watch reflects the fashion for this flower during the 17th century. Tulips were – and are, of course – a well-loved flower. The price of tulip bulbs bloomed in the 1630s only to implode at the end of the decade. Fortunes were made and lost. The center of ‘tulipmania’ market in England was at the Royal Exchange.