I did not realize that this escapement, invented by Robert Robin in 1792 has now in true Swiss tradition been appropriated and rebranded as the 'Audemars Piguet escapement'. The safety action was also devised around 1800. Quite evidently it never performed as well as the double roller lever as they are rarely found.
oliver h Both designs (AP and Daniel's Co-Axial) follow somehow Robin's idea in order to separate impulse and locking and achieve low friction. Robin's and its remaking by AP are NOT self starting (as long as I know) and , Daniel's is. This I think it is due to their single impulse instead of the double impulse of Daniel's design.
it seems it is sophisticated but the reality it is not complex as digital watch it takes few seconds to understand it while digital watches required courses. people see it astonishing just because of its complicated appearance.
Why don't they make the gear that interacts with the pallet fork out of pointed spikes of polished diamond? That would reduce friction to negligible amounts. The balance spring could be made out of a tri-metallic substance that would reduce the effects of expansion due to temperature. (By a tendency to maintain the same overall spring diameter)
They did, it uses less energy. The problem is that people don't care too much about the being less energy so while it is a good innovation, it isn't seismic.
"My Casio is a watch of the people". Do you speak for "the people" now? Are "the people" too simple to understand and appreciate fine craftsmanship and artistry? Who needs oil paintings when we have digital cameras eh? These mechanical watches have not forgotten what being a watch is. That is precisely why they continue this way. Watch making is a craft like many others, refined over centuries. It isn't tossed away as soon as mass produced, machine made alternatives arrive.
@Kg277 That might be true, but your $12.95 Casio was never worked on by a professional for many hours, your $12.95 Casio will never be mistaken for a work of art, your $12.95 Casio will never be worthy of handing down to the next generation. You will never get the satisfaction of looking down on your wrist while feeling the movement keeping time in a piece that is completely mechanical, using technology that has evolved over centuries. But that's ok with me.
My Casio is a watch of the people, a watch for the working engineer where no man will lust or envy over acquiring one. He can have it and enjoy it. My watch won't let me down under water, it won't wear out and I won't need to hand it down, it's efficient design can be reproduced at will. These mechanical time pieces forgot what being a watch was, they became jewelry, flawed and inefficient. These watches are no better than trickling water from a clay jar.
