Pin-pallet escapement 1960s produced fully jeweled pin-pallet watches. By 1980 inexpensive quartz watches took over the market for low-end watches which pin pallet watches had dominated, and production ceased. Quartz technology is gradually replacing the last uses of pin pallet movements in timers and alarm clocks. Another escapement also called a "pin pallet escapement", unrelated to the Roskopf above, is the Brocot escapement, invented in 1823 by Louis-Gabriel Brocot and improved by his son Achille, and used in 19th century French pendulum clocks. It is a variation of the anchor escapement in which the pallets are semicircular pins. The escapement is often
Watch Nevertheless, the craftsmanship of mechanical watches still attracts interest from part of the watch-buying public, especially among the watch collectors. Skeleton watches are designed to leave the mechanism visible for aesthetic purposes. A mechanical movement uses an escapement mechanism to control and limit the unwinding and winding parts of a spring, converting what would otherwise be a simple unwinding into a controlled and periodic energy release. A mechanical movement also uses a balance wheel together with the balance spring (also known as a hairspring) to control the motion of the gear system of the watch in a manner analogous to