Pallet fork

[2][1][3] In early watches the pallet fork and the lever were made as separate components and joined together.

To reduce friction, the pallets are made of precisely shaped pieces of ruby jewel.

Under the fork there is a projecting guard pin which passes through a notch in a separate safety roller disk on the balance shaft.

Its purpose is to make sure the fork is in the right position to receive the impulse pin if a jar to the watch prematurely 'unlocks' the lever from the escape wheel.

Mechanical alarm clocks and kitchen timers use a less accurate form of the lever in which vertical metal pins are substituted for the pallet jewels.