Yesterday, we discussed watch movements and mentioned something called an escapement that regulates the mechanism's speed. The escapement made modern timekeeping possible. In this post, we're going to look at how an escapement works.
The double roller Swiss anchor escapement (so-called because a key component known as a pallet is shaped like an anchor) is used in almost all high-end mechanical watches today. Whereas the movement is used to translate the amount the mainspring has unwound into a display representing the time, the escapement is the part that makes sure the mainspring takes the proper amount of time to unwind.
It consists of three parts: the balance wheel, the escape lever, and the escape wheel.
- The balance wheel has bicycle-wheel-like spokes. The mainspring moves these spokes back and forth like a pendulum as it releases tension.
- The escape lever is rocked by the motion of the balance wheel, alternately stopping the escape wheel and causing it to turn.
- The escape wheel, propelled by the escape lever, propels, in turn, the minute hand through one complete rotation every hour.
In the next exciting installment, Watch Arena Blog looks at the tourbillon.