Another of my dumb questions: On 18s 3/4 plate Veritas model Elgins, they have a kind of hook-shaped extension on the end of the pallet, that goes around the escape wheel pinion.Was that done for balance, or to help prevent overbanking?I wouldn't think overbanking would be a problem on a double roller watch.It certainly looks impressive....Ted Brown.

Theodore, The Swiss watchmakers often used some sort of shaped "tail" at the far end of the pallet lever or fork that banged back and forth in a "chambered" cavity instead of the banking pins we use to adjust pallet lockup on the escape wheel. That said, many American Watchmakers added a separate extension shaped like a "moustache", or crescent as a kinetic (dynamic) counter-balance for the pallet fork to stabilize it's cyclic reaction time in different poositions. For this to make any difference at all depended on a perfectly adjusted and timed watch.

Thanks, Dave.