Escapements
General Categories
Mechanical Escapements
Detached Escapements Allows the balance wheel to swing undisturbed during most of its cycle, except for the brief impulse period Frictional Rest Escapements
Recoil Escapements
Oscillation organs have to rewind the entire works of the wheels against its will, while running the supplementary arc |
Liquid-Driven Escapements
Liquid-Driven Escapements Liquid-based escapements that tend to use water or mercury |
Overview |
"P" stands for portable meaning that the escapement is used in watches.
|
Time |
Type of escapement |
Inventor |
Description |
P |
Liquid
Driven Escapements |
||||
325
BCE |
Water |
Philo
of Byzantium |
For
washstand automaton |
|
723 |
Water |
Buddhist
monk: Yi
Xing Gov.
official: Liang
Lingzan |
Powered
armillary sphere and clock drive World's
first clockwork escapement mechanism |
|
1277 |
Mercury |
(Arabic
source) |
Spanish
work for Alfonso X |
|
Frictional
Rest Escapements |
||||
1695 |
Cylinder |
Thomas
Tompion |
Pocket-
and wrist-watches |
P |
1715 |
Deadbeat/Graham
|
George
Graham |
Precision
domestic clocks |
|
1741 |
Pin
Wheel |
Amant |
Clocks
on towers |
|
1748 |
Duplex
|
Pierre
Le Roy |
Pocket-watches |
P |
Recoil
Escapements |
||||
1275 |
Verge
|
(unknown) |
Clocks |
|
1510 |
Verge
|
Peter
Henlein |
Pocket-watches |
P |
1680 |
English
Anchor |
William
Clement |
Tableclocks,
daily used clocks/ watches |
|
1700 |
Strip-Pallet/Metal
Strip Type of Anchor Escapement |
(unknown) |
Cuckoo clock, cheap clocks |
|
?? |
Tic-Tac/Drum |
(unknown) |
Short
pendulums |
|
1823 |
Brocot |
Louis-Gabriel
Brocot |
Small
domestic clocks |
|
Detached
Escapements |
||||
1748 |
Pivoted
Detent |
Pierre
Le Roy |
Early
form |
P |
1755 |
English
Lever |
Thomas
Mudge |
Mechanical
watches |
P |
1775 |
Pivoted
Detent |
John
Arnold |
First
effective design |
P |
1780 |
Pivoted
Detent |
Thomas
Earnshaw |
Final
design (still unworkable) |
P |
1784 |
Spring
Detent |
Thomas
Earnshaw |
Most
popular detent |
P |
1779 |
Spring
Detent |
John
Arnold Ferdinand
Berthoud |
Neither
design as popular as Earnshaw’s |
|
1791 |
Robin
Escapement |
Robert
Robin |
Pocket
watches |
P |
1798 |
Pin
Pallet |
C.
Perron |
Alarm
clocks/pocket watches |
P |
1802 |
Échappement
naturel (Breguet Escapement) |
Abraham
Louis Breguet |
Mechanical
watches |
P |
1851 |
Gravity
|
Edmund
Beckett Denison |
Clock
tower |
|
1852 |
Glashuette
Lever |
Ferdinand
Adolf Lange |
Pocket
watches |
P |
1859 |
Fasoldt |
Charles
Fasoldt |
|
P |
1889 |
Riefler
|
Clemens
Riefler |
Clocks
for astronomical purposes |
|
1900 |
Strasser
|
Ludwig
Strasser |
Clocks
for astronomical purposes |
|
1910 |
Swiss
Lever |
(unkown) |
Pocket
watches, wrist watches |
P |
1924 |
Mueller
Lever |
Hugo
Mueller |
Pocket
watches |
P |
1974 |
Daniel’s
Independent Double-Wheel |
George
Daniels |
(not
really used) |
P |
1974 |
Coaxial
|
George
Daniels |
watches |
|
2000 |
Dual
Direct (Ulysse Nardin) |
Ludwig Oechslin |
Ulysse
Nardin Freak |
P |
2001 |
Ulysse
Nardin |
Ludwig Oechslin |
Mechanical
watches |
P |
2000 |
Haldimann
|
Beat
Haldimann |
Clocks
for astronomical purposes |
|
2001 |
Würtz |
Philippe
Wurtz |
Pendulum
clocks |
|
2008 |
Girard-Perregaux’s
Constant |
Nicolas
Déhon |
Mechanical
watches |
P |
2011 |
Eleta |
Miki
Eleta |
Miki’s
kinetic sculptures |
|
2014 |
Ulysse
Anchor Escapement |
|
Mechanical
watches |
P |
N/A |
Spider
Escapement |
Phil
Abernathy |
Ornamental
clocks |
|