The world’s first mechanical clocks were built around the year 1300 in the region spanning northern Italy to southern Germany. From that point on, the basic elements of mechanical timepieces have been the power source, the regulator, and the escapement.

Timepieces that relied on the movement of a weight could not be transported or freely carried about, but through the invention of the mainspring, portable timepieces were developed in the 16th century.

The non-isochronous foliot balance used in the first mechanical clocks gave way to the isochronous pendulum, which dramatically improved the accuracy of timepieces.

The next big development was the invention of a balance wheel that not only had the same isochronous property as the pendulum, but was also not easily affected by vibrations, and was therefore portable. Crown wheel escapements were superseded by more accurate cylinder escapements.

The marine chronometer brought more accuracy and safety to sea voyages. The pursuit of greater accuracy and vibration-resistance produced fierce competition among many people in the development of better escapements.

The invention of the lever escapement by incorporating a lever between the balance wheel and the escape wheel, based on a deadbeat escapement, was an important breakthrough that led to the development of modern escapements.

The precision of both pendulums and balance wheels is affected by changes in temperature. Various mechanisms were devised to compensate for this, leading to more accurate timepieces that were no longer affected by the changing of seasons.

The pursuit of precision in mechanical timepieces continues to this day, with the development of new regulator escapements and new component materials.