BANKING

In watchmaking, a banking is a device — most often a stop or a pin — that restricts the movement of a moving part to a defined range. Its role is to ensure that the component does not exceed its operating positions, to guarantee the repeatability of an action, and to protect the mechanism. For example, there are banking pins that limit the angular travel of the pallets (lever) between its two extreme positions (limiting recoil and overbanking), ensuring a stable escapement; stops limiting the travel of a pusher, a chiming hammer, a control lever, or a slide; or even bankings preventing a wheel from moving out of its usable range. A properly adjusted banking precisely defines the end positions: too loose, it leaves harmful play; too tight, it jams or wears out the parts. The regulation / adjustment banking (for example pallet pins) is part of the delicate adjustments of the escapement. These discrete elements are essential to the operating safety and regularity of the Movement.