Brocot Escapement
Also known as: Visible Brocot escapement, Brocot pin-pallet escapement
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1860-1867 (dated example)
The Brocot escapement is a pendulum-clock escapement associated with French clocks; museum catalogues often name it when it is mounted on the front of the dial as a 'visible' escapement. The linked Victoria and Albert Museum example, a French mantel clock of 1860-1867, has a visible Brocot escapement in the upper part of the recessed dial area, with a cock of a pair of curved gilt arms meeting at the centre, an escape wheel of 33 teeth and jewelled pallets spanning 12 teeth.
The same museum records internal Brocot escapements with steel pallets in other French clocks, often together with a Brocot-type regulator for adjusting the pendulum.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Technical characteristics
- Pallets
- Jewelled in the visible example; steel in internal examples recorded by the V&A
- Regulation
- Often paired with a Brocot-type regulator
- Example escape wheel
- 33 teeth, pallets spanning 12 teeth (V&A 763:1, 2-1869)
Identification
- Identification
- The V&A example has the escapement mounted visibly in the recessed dial area; other recorded examples carry a regulator pinion stamped 'BROCOT PROPTE'.
- Source note
- Drawn only from the linked V&A object records; not yet checked against a standard horological reference.
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm details against a standard horological reference.