Catalogue
Escapements
The technical encyclopedia of escapement types and their development.
Scope
The mechanisms that release a clock or watch train in regular steps. These technical entries explain how each escapement works and how to recognise it in a movement.
A short reference section that supports the clock and watch entries.
What to record when identifying
- Shape of the escape wheel teeth
- Form of the pallets or impulse surfaces
- Relationship to the balance or pendulum
Published entries
7
Individual types and documented families
With photographs
100%
7 with a credited real-object photo
Dated span
1670 – 1800
6 entries with their own date
Verified or well documented
2
Highest two confidence levels
Catalogue entries (7)
Filter by era, country, maker or material1–7 of 7 entries
Timwether, via Wikimedia Commons
escapements
Anchor (Recoil) Escapement
c. 1670 onwards
The anchor escapement is the pendulum-clock escapement in which a pivoted part shaped vaguely like a ship's anchor alternately catches and releases the teeth of a vertical escape wheel. On each swing it gives the pendulum a small push and lets the wheel train advance by a fixed amount, moving the hands forward. The…
Partial type record
Auckland Museum Collections, via Wikimedia Commons
escapements
Cylinder Escapement
1695 onwards
The cylinder, or horizontal, escapement is a watch escapement in which a cut-away cylinder on the balance wheel's shaft takes the place of pallets. Its chief attraction was that it is much thinner than the verge escapement, so watches could be made fashionably slim. The escape wheel, which usually has 15 wedge-shap…
Partial type record
Daderot, via Wikimedia Commons
escapements
Detent (Chronometer) Escapement
1748 onwards (final form about 1800)
The detent, or chronometer, escapement was used in marine chronometers, and in some precision watches of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is a detached escapement: the balance wheel swings undisturbed for most of its cycle and receives an impulse only once per cycle, on every other swing. Because the dri…
Partial type record
S. Wetzel (Uhren), via Wikimedia Commons
escapements
Gravity Escapement (Double Three-Legged)
Developed mid-18th to mid-19th century
A gravity escapement gives impulse to the pendulum from a small weight or weak spring rather than directly from the clock's wheel train. The train only resets the weighted arms, so the push the pendulum receives does not change when the driving force varies. In the earliest form, two arms pivoted very close to the…
Partial type record
Haraldmmueller, via Wikimedia Commons
escapements
Pin Wheel Escapement
c. 1741 onwards
The pin wheel escapement is a rugged version of the deadbeat escapement, used quite often in tower clocks. Instead of teeth, its escape wheel carries round pins, which are stopped and released by a scissors-like anchor with two long pallet arms. Like other deadbeat escapements, it is designed to avoid the recoil of…
Partial type record
Hustvedt, via Wikimedia Commons
escapements
Swiss Lever Escapement
19th century to present
The Swiss lever escapement is a form of detached escapement characterised by club-tooth escape wheel teeth, serving as the dominant escapement in mechanical watches since the late nineteenth century. The foundational lever escapement was invented around 1754 by the British clockmaker Thomas Mudge and first used in 1…
Research required
Daderot, via Wikimedia Commons
escapements
Verge Escapement
c. 13th century to 19th century
The verge escapement, also known as the crown wheel escapement, is the earliest recorded form of mechanical escapement used in clocks and pocket watches. Originating in medieval Europe during the late thirteenth century, it was likely adapted from an earlier bell-ringing alarm mechanism. Its introduction was a pivot…
Research required
Dated entries by century
- 17th century2
- 18th century4
Only the 6 entries carrying their own date to within about 150 years are counted, by the earliest year given. These are catalogue holdings, not production totals.
Confidence of the published entries
- Well documented2
- Probable5
Confidence reflects how well the sources support each entry's identification, not the object's quality or importance.
Museum specimen and identification evidence
Related guides and articles
Common questions about escapements
- What does the Escapements section cover?
- The mechanisms that release a clock or watch train in regular steps. These technical entries explain how each escapement works and how to recognise it in a movement.
- What should I record when identifying escapements?
- Record shape of the escape wheel teeth; form of the pallets or impulse surfaces; relationship to the balance or pendulum. Compare those details with the entries here before drawing any conclusion.
- How many escapements entries are published, and do they have photographs?
- 7 entries are published in this section; 7 of them carry at least one credited photograph of a real object, with its source and stated rights.
- What period do the escapements entries cover?
- 6 entries carry their own date to within about a century and a half; they range from 1670 to 1800. Broader museum date ranges are kept exactly as recorded and are left out of this span.
- Does Orbis value or grade escapements?
- No. Orbis documents and identifies object types with cited sources. It does not grade condition, estimate prices or sell objects.