Cock. In watches, a small plate with open work and engraving, covering the balance wheel. See Horology, Plate X [key AA], Figure 45.

French-style cocks are better than the English type because they have two ears or feet, PP; they are sturdier, and the balance staff cannot come out of its pivots because of a shock, as often happens with English watches.

The cockerel in French watches is a small brass part fitted to the cock by means of one screw and two feet; the balance staff pivots in a hole in the cockerel . French watchmakers have adopted this practice 1) to locate the regulator closer to the middle of its staff, 2) to make the balance staff less likely to break from a shock, 3) to avoid excessive wear on the pivot and the hole in which it turns, and 4) to retain a larger quantity of oil.

In French watches there is yet another part, called the steel cockerel ; it is claw-shaped and holds an agate or a garnet on the center of the brass cockerel , for the balance staff pivot to rest on when the watch is lying on its back. See Pivot staff, and [Plate X, key CC], Figure [13], q .