EXOTIC ESCAPEMENTS

A closer look at modern, high-tech escapements that have pushed the boundaries of classic horology

- CHERYL CHIA

Over the last 50 years, emerging technologies have become a remarkable aid in technical development. From 1969 till the 1980s, escapement technology, having seen incremental improvements up until then, became threatened by the introduction of quartz oscillators in wristwatches. The period of intense technological upheaval ended with the latter emerging as the predominant design and the last word in precision timekeeping. But crucial to the survival of watchmaking was the elevation of mechanics to art and in so doing, it became necessary to carry on the tradition of scientific enquiry in terms of the escapement.

For some it meant improving the lever escapement as specialised fabrication techniques such as DRIE (Deep Reactive Ion Etching) and LIGA (Lithographie, Galvanoformung, Abformung) as well as nonmagnetic materials such as silicon made a noteworthy entrance into watchmaking, while others saw an opportunity to realise the potential of escapements that never caught on. However, for a small handful of watchmakers, new technologies also became a catalyst to rethink the concept of an escapement including the function and engagement of its interrelated components. Before delving into the weeds, it is worth revisiting the cornerstones of an escapement.