FLOWING FREELY

The story of the beating heart of the mechanical watch comes full circle with a closer inspection of the escape wheel and the pallet fork

- ASHOK SOMAN

The three-part journey detailing the workings of the mechanical escapement finally comes to a close with this story. Having dealt with the hairspring (issue #54) and balance wheel (issue #55), the time is ripe to meet the escape wheel and the pallet fork. Basically, these components are the ones you encounter most directly in your daily interactions with your watch. The sounds of the movement beating are the sounds of the pallet fork and escape wheel making repeated and regular contact. For such a pivotal part, it receives perhaps the least amount of attention, when compared with the hairspring and the balance wheel.

Part of the reason for this is that the conversation about the mechanical escapement revolves around the production of hairsprings and balance wheels. The escape wheel and its pallet fork partner are almost after-thoughts. Indeed, they can be considered part of the wheel train, but are properly part of the escapement.

In our previous stories, we noted that the balance spring and balance wheel must work as a unit to create an effective regulating unit. The analogy was to the pendulum in the pendulum clock. Well, the escape wheel and the pallet fork already existed in this type of clock, and indeed pre-date the invention of this kind of timepiece. Of all the components of the escapement, this is the oldest. Our journey to the past will take us well past the European Renaissance, all the way to antiquity.

Before moving forward, it should noted that the Rolex sidebar included here was originally published in issue #42, and was written by Jamie Tan.

WATERWORKS