Grasshopper escapement to Harrison were poor, messy and short-lived. This meant that conventional clocks had to be stopped frequently for cleaning and oiling. Using his clean and absolutely stable grasshopper escapement Harrison began a series of long-term investigations into the performance of clocks, leading to his invention of the gridiron pendulum which counteracted the effects of expansion and contraction with changing temperature. The performance of his improved clocks in turn gave him an accurate, convenient standard against which to test his marine timekeepers. Harrison developed the grasshopper escapement from a conventional anchor escapement which he built for a turret clock to go
Coaxial escapement Coaxial escapement The coaxial escapement is a type of modern watch escapement mechanism invented by English watchmaker George Daniels. Invented around 1974 and patented in 1980 by English watchmaker George Daniels, the coaxial escapement is a modification of the lever escapement with some features of the detent escapement. Considered by some to be one of the most significant horological advancements since the invention of the lever escapement, the coaxial escapement functions with a system of three pallets that separate the locking function from the impulse, avoiding the sliding friction of the lever escapement. This makes lubrication of the pallets theoretically