Lever escapement Lever escapement The lever escapement, invented by British clockmaker Thomas Mudge in 1755, is a type of escapement that is used in almost all mechanical watches, as well as small mechanical non-pendulum clocks, alarm clocks, and kitchen timers. An escapement is a mechanical linkage that gives pushes to the timepiece's balance wheel, keeping it rotating back and forth, and with each swing of the balance wheel allows the timepiece's gear train to advance a fixed amount, thus moving the hands forward at a steady rate. The escapement is what makes the "ticking" sound in mechanical watches and clocks. The lever
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