Pin Wheel Escapement
Also known as: Amant escapement, Mannhardt escapement
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
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 the ordinary anchor escapement, in which the pendulum pushes the escape wheel backward during part of each swing. Recoil disturbs the pendulum, reverses the gear train and adds friction and wear; a deadbeat instead holds the wheel still at the extremes of the swing and gives its impulse near the bottom of the swing, before releasing the next pin. The photograph shows the pin wheel escapement of the tower clock at South Mymms in England: the ring of pins on the escape wheel and the paired pallet arms that close on them are clearly visible.
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.
Historical context
Invented around 1741 by Louis Amant, the escapement is also known as the Amant escapement and, in Germany, as the Mannhardt escapement. Its robustness suited it to large public clocks, where it is still frequently found.
Technical characteristics
- Type
- Deadbeat escapement (no recoil)
- Anchor
- Scissors-like, with two pallet arms
- Typical use
- Tower clocks
- Escape wheel
- Round pins in place of teeth
Identification
- Source note
- Background drawn from Wikipedia (“Escapement”), a tertiary source; details have not yet been checked against a standard horological reference.
- Identification
- Escape wheel with round pins instead of teeth; scissors-like anchor; tower clock movement
- How to identify
- Look for an escape wheel carrying a ring of round pins rather than cut teeth, worked by two long pallet arms that close on the pins like scissors. It is usually found in tower clock movements.
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
- Earliest surviving dated pin wheel tower clocks still to be documented from institutional records.