Adrian Vale
A closer look at the watch on your wrist.
NALQIR creates digital guides for people beginning to explore mechanical watches.
The details are interesting. The language is not.
The subject is full of interesting details, but the language can make the first steps feel unnecessarily complicated. We created this collection to organise those steps: understand the basic ideas, decide what matters to you and learn how to keep useful records as an owner.
Each guide has a clear role. Together, they offer a starting point for curiosity without requiring you to become a repair technician or a seasoned collector.
- Volume 01 Understand the mechanism What the parts are for, and what the words on a specification sheet actually describe.
- Volume 02 Choose with purpose Your own priorities, the fit on your wrist and the questions worth asking a seller.
- Volume 03 Keep useful records The instructions for your own model, what you observe and what you pass to a service provider.
Energy, released slowly, counted carefully.
A mechanical watch stores energy, lets it out in measured steps and shows the result on a dial. Volume 01 keeps returning to those four jobs, because every unfamiliar word belongs to one of them.
- 01Energy is wound into a spring, by your hand or by the movement of your wrist.
- 02It is passed along a train of wheels, which is where the ratios live.
- 03It is released in measured steps, so the hands advance evenly instead of unwinding at once.
- 04The result is shown on the dial, together with whatever other functions the watch has.
Deliberately abstract. It is a way of naming four jobs, not a drawing of any real movement — and nothing in the collection teaches disassembly, lubrication, regulation or servicing.
Meet Adrian Vale.
Adrian is the editorial voice of NALQIR: the one who decides what belongs on a page, which volume a question really belongs to and when a worksheet is more useful than another photograph.
His approach is the one the guides are built on — careful observation, clear questions and enjoyment of small details. He would rather write down what a specification actually says than repeat what everybody seems to know about it.
The guides are editorial, not technical authority. They explain ideas and organise decisions; for your own watch, the manufacturer’s instructions and a qualified service provider come first.
The study
A stated diameter tells you less than you think.
Volume 02 spends a chapter here. Two watches described with the same number can sit very differently on the same wrist, because the number only measures one edge of the case.
- ACase diameter — the figure most listings quote, and the one that travels furthest from how a watch feels.
- BLug-to-lug — the full length across the case. It decides whether the watch sits on your wrist or over the edge of it.
- CStrap width between the lugs, which also decides what you can change it for later.
- DThickness, including the crystal: this is what slides under a cuff, or does not.
An outline, not a technical drawing of any model. Measurements are stated differently by different makers, so compare the figures a seller gives for the exact reference — and try the watch on when you can.
A record, not a diagnosis.
Volume 03 asks for the same four columns every time. The value is in the comparison between entries — and in handing something useful to a qualified service provider instead of a hunch.
| Date | Worn | Observed | What I will check |
|---|---|---|---|
| — / — | All day, then rested dial up | Compared against the same reference as last time | The manual for my reference, before changing anything |
| — / — | Not worn for several days | Stopped; wound and restarted | What the manufacturer says about power reserve for this calibre |
| — / — | Worn daily | A change I have now seen more than once | Whether this is worth asking a qualified service provider about |
The rows are left open on purpose: no turn count, crown direction, date-setting window, service interval or accuracy figure is general enough to print here. Those belong to your own model’s instructions.
What the collection is, and what it is not.
Three English PDF editions for beginners: the mechanism explained conceptually, a framework for a first purchase and a routine for everyday ownership. Reading prompts, comparison worksheets and ownership logs, written to be used with a watch in front of you.
Not a repair, regulation or servicing manual. Not an authentication, valuation or investment service, and not a claim about any brand. No awards, qualifications, customer numbers or endorsements are claimed anywhere on this site, and the watches shown are generic and illustrative rather than documented models.
English PDF ebooks. No printed book, watch, tools, straps or accessories are included. Book-shaped images are previews of the planned digital editions. Personal use only.
They explain the mechanism conceptually. They do not teach disassembly, internal lubrication, regulation or servicing. Winding, setting, date adjustment, water resistance and cleaning vary between models: follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your own watch rather than any general rule, treat a water-resistance rating as a specification and not as permission for an activity, and take one observation as something to record rather than a diagnosis. Technical work belongs with a qualified service provider.
Understand the watch. Enjoy the detail.