Anchor escapement clocks with 1 meter (39 inch) seconds pendulums that came to be called longcase or 'grandfather' clocks. The anchor increased the accuracy of clocks so much that around 1680–1690 the use of the minute hand, formerly the exception in clocks, became the rule. The anchor escapement replaced the verge in pendulum clocks within about fifty years, although French clockmakers continued to use verges until about 1800. Many verge clocks were rebuilt with anchors. In the 18th century the more accurate deadbeat form of the escapement replaced the anchor in precision regulators, but the anchor remained the workhorse in home pendulum
Escapement to a point close to its unstable state, and is released with a snap each swing of the balance wheel to give the wheel an impulse, after which it is cocked again by the wheeltrain. The advantage claimed is that since the blade imparts the same amount of energy to the wheel each release, the balance wheel is isolated from variations in impulse force due to the wheeltrain and mainspring which cause inaccuracies in conventional escapements. Parmigiani Fleurier with its Genequand escapement and Ulysse Nardin with its Ulysse Anchor escapement have taken advantage of the properties of silicon flat springs.