Birthday present for the wife of a good friend. Likes kinetic art, so agreed when I suggested I try out new idea for a mechanism.
Casing/cage removed to reduce size, cut down weight and do away with turning knob.
First is the rear structure and bail.
Central pivot and pinion gear assembly.
Photo above shows the rotating wheels with stones set.
These are synthetic alexandrite. I suggested them as I'm intrigued by their colour changing qualities. The client liked the idea as it reflects the changing nature of love & marriage.
The photo on the right shows the catch locking the rear wheel in place.
I was worried that the heavy stone settings would cause both wheels to rotate downwards due to gravity and the normal position would have both hearts upside-down.
I wanted to dictate the default position and prevent unwanted rotation during normal wear.