The Unitas 497 watch movement features a pin-lever escapement and a ratchet on the dial side, along with a crown mechanism equipped with a rocker bar. Its design enables both sub-second and sweep second functions using the same plate and bridges, by simply exchanging the positions of the 2nd and 4th wheels. The sweep second variation incorporates an intermediate wheel to connect the center pinion with the minute wheel at the sub-second position. This movement also benefits from having only one wheel overlapping the barrel in the center, thereby maintaining a moderate height for a pin-lever movement. The Unitas 497 movement is manually wound and was commonly used around the 1960s.