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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Detached escapement

Swiss (straight-line) lever escapement

Verified

Escape wheel, pallet fork pivot and balance staff are arranged on a single straight line, typically with a club-tooth escape wheel; the compact layout suits thin, going-barrel movements built for volume production.

Schematic arrangement

How it is laid out

Escape wheelPallet forkBalance & impulse pin

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

  • Compact and thin
  • Efficient impulse transfer
  • Well suited to mass and later mechanised production

Drawbacks

  • Requires precise jewelling and pallet geometry to perform well

Attribution and period

Standardised through the nineteenth century as Continental going-barrel production matured

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.