English: A drawing of an English lever escapement from "Tidens naturlære" (Nature of time) 1903 by Poul la Cour, Ill. 26. An escapement, part of every mechanical watch, is a mechanical linkage which gives the balance wheel a push each swing, keeping it oscillating back and forth, and at each swing of the balance wheel releases the gear train to move forward a fixed amount, thus moving the hands of the watch forward at a steady rate. The English lever was used in quality watches up until the mid 1800s and is the forerunner of the modern Swiss lever escapement, which is used in almost every mechanical watch today.