Introduction
58
59
I
t is indeed a demanding task to explain to the interested
connoisseurs the complex ways that the escapement
*
, Gear train
*
and motive energy work together in a relatively short, yet compre-
hensible text. We watchmakers learned this over a three-year course
of study designed to have us understand the basics of this craft.
However, it is important to us to give you not only the possibility of
assembling your own precision table clock with this kit, but to also
share our enthusiasm for this type of timepiece with you.
It is the fascinating interplay of nature’s laws and what at first glance
seems to be simple mechanics that allows us to measure the passing
of time with enormous precision. Over the course of the last
centuries, watchmakers have put great effort into increasing the
accuracy of mechanical watch movements using the means at their
disposal.
Today, we feel obliged to carry on this tradition and are thus
consistently trying to improve our purely mechanical timepieces using
the aid of new materials, modern manufacturing processes, and new
design solutions.
Today, the fascination of a precision table clock is not only tied to its
precision, but closer observation will allow you to see its simple, clear
design. In it, we can observe and understand the effects of nature’s
laws. A mechanical clock is a lively and—some say—living thing, and
your Mechanica M2 is even something tangible in the full meaning
of the word.
Over the course of the last 400 years, watchmakers have tried to
compensate the influences of gravity that prevent a timepiece from
working with complete accuracy with innovative designs. Before we
take a closer look at the structure of the escapement
*
, let us take
a short journey through history so that we can understand the
invention, development, and perfection of the escapement
*
.
The following listing of escapements makes no pretense to be
complete. Here we are solely visiting some of the important stations
along the way toward the development of today’s Swiss lever
escapement
*
.
The development of modern timekeeping began in the high Middle
Ages. Probably as early as the thirteenth century mechanical clock
movements were being made using toothed wheels—an element
that has remained the technical basis for the history of the art of
watchmaking all the way to the modern day.
The first mechanical clocks used the foliot
*
as their escapements, a component with
adjustable weights named for its visual similari-
ty to a scale. The oldest form of escapement—
the verge
*
—used in conjunction with the foliot
could only guarantee an uneven rate for the
movement. The Verge escapement had other
decisive disadvantages, but remained in use in
simple movements until the mid-1800s.
Because of the recoil of the Crown wheel
*
, this
escapement showed very high loss due to
friction
*
and thus did not freely oscillate. The
recoil is defined as the direction of motion of
the Crown wheel (and later the escape wheel),
in which it is led opposite its normal direction
of rotation until the escapement reached its inversion point
*
after
dropping the Verge escapement pallet (later the escape wheel tooth).
The escapement was thus attached to the Gear train
*
during the
entire duration of its oscillation.
The Development
of the Escapement
The following
descriptions are
meant to give you
a little overview
of how your
mechanical table
clock functions
and the special
elements of its
design.
Foliot*
Foliot*
suspension
Crown
wheel*
Verge
Verge escapement
(from approx. 1300)
