The reign of Louis XIII (1610-43) spanned the last period of Renaissance clockmaking in France before the mid 17th-century fashion for watches apparently caused the almost complete cessation of clockmaking (a largely unexplained phenomenon). Survivals from this period are rare but tend to be of very high quality, like the clock made for the brother of Louis XIII. The style was international; cases were of gilded metal for the small square, cylindrical or octagonal table clocks, and for the larger versions with horizontal dials. Surfaces were elaborately engraved, the subjects often taken from engravings of allegories or myths.