What is a Pinion?
Sitting at the heart of every mechanical watch are small but important pinion gear wheels.
The pinions mesh together with other larger gear wheels to perform significant tasks such as the motion of the visible watch hands.
What the illustration shows
- The cannon pinion sits at the heart of a Unitas 6498 hand wound movement.
- The cannon pinion is fitted to the centre wheel shaft of the movement. The hour wheel fits over this and the shaft of the cannon pinion is visible. The hour hand is fitted to the hour wheel and the second hand to the shaft of the cannon pinion.
- The cannon pinion works by translating the motion of the wheels from the reverse of the movement to the hands on the front of the watch.
