Skip to content
The Encyclopedia of Horology

Frictional rest escapement

Cylinder (horizontal) escapement

Verified

Raised escape-wheel teeth enter a cut-away cylinder on the balance staff, impulsing on entry and exit while resting against the cylinder wall between.

Schematic arrangement

How it is laid out

Escape wheel, raised teethCut-away cylinder on balance staff

Outline schematic only, drawn to show the characteristic arrangement of wheel, locking member and oscillator. It is not a dimensioned working drawing and should not be used for setting up or repairing a movement.

Advantages

  • Permits very thin movements
  • Fewer parts than a lever

Drawbacks

  • Rapid wear
  • Sensitive to lubrication
  • Still a frictional rest design

Attribution and period

Early eighteenth century, associated with George Graham

Horological firsts are frequently contested. Where an invention is attributed to a named maker, that attribution is recorded as such rather than treated as settled fact.

Diagram

escape wheelpallets and leveroscillator
Schematic: escapement arrangement. An outline schematic drawn to show the arrangement of the parts discussed here. It is not a dimensioned working drawing and does not depict a particular maker's calibre.