Escapement remontoire, a device which isolated the escapement from changes in drive force. Without a balance spring, the crossbeat would have been no more isochronous than the verge. Invented around 1657 by Robert Hooke, the anchor (see animation at top of page) quickly superseded the verge to become the standard escapement used in pendulum clocks through the 19th century. Its advantage was that it reduced the wide pendulum swing angles of the verge to 3–6°, making the pendulum nearly isochronous, and allowing the use of longer, slower-moving pendulums, which used less energy. The anchor is responsible for the long narrow shape
Escapement was unworkable. Arnold also designed a spring detent escapement but, with improved design, Earnshaw's version eventually prevailed as the basic idea underwent several minor modifications during the last decade of the 18th century. The final form appeared around 1800, and this design was used until mechanical chronometers became obsolete in the 1970s. The detent is a detached escapement; it allows the balance wheel to swing undisturbed during most of its cycle, except the brief impulse period, which is only given once per cycle (every other swing). Because the driving escape wheel tooth moves almost parallel to the pallet, the escapement