PALLETS

Pallets is the part between the balance wheel and the escape wheel.

It has two functions. It gives impulses to the balance wheel to keep it in motion, and it retains the energy of the barrel, which it distributes to the balance wheel at regular intervals. It is the result of the assembly of five components.

The body of the anchor itself is made of steel, the two ruby pallets which are pinched on the body of the anchor and fixed with shellac, the anchor shaft which is made of steel and which is sometimes screwed or driven, and finally the stinger which is generally made of brass and fixed at the back of the anchor opposite the pallets.

Some antique watches are equipped with moustache pallets that have whiskers for the overall balance of the pallets that also serve as a limitation with the axis of the anchor wheel for limitation. The adjustment of the anchor, called escapement making, is a subtle balance between different angles that can be corrected by, among other things, pulling out or pushing in the pallets.

Other ways of touching this balance are possible like forging the stinger for example. Since the pallets only makes small angular movements, it is one of the rare points that is not lubricated on its axis. It is however at the level of the pallets when they are in ruby.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, silicon escapements have appeared. In theory, they do not need to be lubricated anymore, which can increase the time between overhauls that every mechanical watch needs after a few years.