Pillars In clock and watch movements, pillars are used as supports to hold the movement plates in place, creating space for the gear work. They are mounted between two plates, either the front- and backplates, or the top and bottom plates (as is the case with the Gilt Cubic Table Clock made around 1640 by Ahasuerus Fromanteel and Edward East). Pillars used in early clock and watch movements come in a variety of shapes, such as baluster (the most common), finned, knopped, Egyptian and vase-like.
