E Howard Series III escape wheel identification please

[SpringDriven]

Hello all,

I would like to know if anyone recognizes this escape wheel in my E Howard series III, serial 4108. As in, what kind of escapement is this? I have not seen an escape wheel before where the toe of the escape wheel tooth is the locking face.

I have included a photo of a standard escape wheel and fork for comparison.

Thank you for your help and expertise!

 

[Jim M.]

The design of escapements on E. Howard & Co Series III watch movement varied over time and included: use of double banking pin escapements, single banking pin escapements, or the Coles resilient escapement. Your watch is fitted with a single-banking pin escapement with the escape wheel having toe-ended teeth (AKA square ended teeth) facing left.

Some good references for further reading:

• George E. Townsend, E. Howard & Co. Watches 1853-1903. (For detailed hand drawings of the varied Series III escapement wheels and pallet forks)
• Clint Geller, A Study of E. Howard & Co. Watchmaking Innovations 1858-1875 (Part II). (For escapement descriptions and working details)

 

[SpringDriven]

Awesome! Thank you so much for this information. I will do my homework now and see if I need to ask further questions.

In the meantime I will leave a photo here of all the parts that go into the Reed's patented barrel (in the Howard series III it is more like a main wheel than a barrel) that is in my watch. I would say that machining the barrel arbor to include the equivalent to a ratchet wheel, and a removable barrel hook was a complex process.

 

[Clint Geller]

To add to what Jim has said, Howard's single banking pin escapements had a pin that hung down off the bottom of one arm of the lever and banked on the perimeter of a circular hole in the dial plate. This idea was copied from some contemporaneous Glashutte watchmakers such as Adolph Lange.