Verge Escapement
Also known as: Crown wheel escapement
Well documentedSupported by multiple reputable specialist catalogues or publications.
Period
c. 13th century to 19th century
The earliest mechanical clock and watch escapement, using a crown wheel and a verge staff carrying two pallets.
Historical context
Used in the first weight-driven tower clocks and, from the sixteenth century, in portable watches. It survived in cheap watch production well into the nineteenth century despite the availability of better escapements.
Technical characteristics
- Type
- Frictional rest escapement
- Oscillator
- Foliot, then balance wheel
- Characteristic
- Large balance arc and heavy recoil, making rate highly sensitive to drive force
Identification
- Identification
- Vertical verge staff at right angles to a crown-shaped escape wheel; in watches the movement is typically fusee-driven with a pierced and engraved balance cock
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 securely dated surviving examples still to be cited from an institutional collection record.