CultureAugust 30, 2026

escapement

eh-SKAYP-ment

Definition

The internal mechanism in a mechanical watch or clock that controls the release of energy to the gears and produces the characteristic ticking sound.

Etymology

Derived from the French 'échappement,' from the verb 'échapper' meaning to escape; it refers to the mechanism's function of allowing the wheel to 'escape' one tooth at a time.

In the news

The article mentions the Swiss lever escapement as a component within the UR-10.01 movement, highlighting the complex technical engineering required to track time accurately over a millennium.

Urwerk's wildest creation yet is a one-of-a-kind titanium pocket watch engraved for 500 hours by hand, hiding beneath that Baroque artistry a mechanism that counts the days, the centuries and an entire millennium, for $561,000.

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