Burt’s Patent

Pocket Watch 101: What is a Safety Pinion?

By Nathan Moore

In Patents & Innovations

The power that allows a pocket watch to operate is provided by the mainspring. This large spring is coiled tightly inside the mainspring barrel as the watch is wound. Once the watch is running, the power is slowly expelled by the escapement, located at the...

Illinois Watch Company , Patents & Innovations

American Innovation: Bigelow’s Patent Safety Pinion and the Illinois Watch Company (Part 7)

By Nathan Moore

Before Fogg's patented safety pinion entered the public domain in 1882, new watch companies were compelled to prioritize the development of their own unique safety pinion design. When the Illinois.

Elgin , Patents & Innovations

American Innovation: The Industry Adopts Fogg’s Patent Safety Pinion (Part 6)

By Nathan Moore

The safety pinion was one of the most pivotal inventions to impact the America watch industry. The ability to protect the delicate watch parts from being damaged when a mainspring.

American Innovation: Merritt Burt’s Safety Pinion: Introduction (Part 1)

By Nathan Moore

In Elgin

National Watch Company (Elgin) B.W. Raymond #829 Marked "Burt's Patent" "Mainspring Events" The large mainspring that serves as the power source for a mechanical watch movement can also become a violent adversary when it breaks, releasing a destructive shock throughout the delicate watch train. As...