Teddy Baldassarre
Why Watches Use IIII Roman Numerals Instead Of IV
Watches with Roman numerals on the dial are among the most stylish and classically elegant of timepieces, despite the fact that most of them have what we might today refer to as an egregious typo. Then again, it’s not really a typo if it’s intentional, right? And the use of a "IIII" in place of the standard Roman numeral "IV" is clearly a conscious decision, as it's been commonplace for centuries. In this article, we offer some possibilities as to why. As anyone familiar with the Roman alphabet knows - and nowadays that probably includes anyone who pays attention to Super Bowl advertising - the Arabic numerals 1, 2, and 3 are rendered, respectively, as I, II, and III, but the format changes with the numeral 4, which is rendered as “IV,” and 5, which is simply “V.” Without getting too bogged down in an ancient alphabetization lesson, the first three numerals after zero (and after 5) are additive, while the one before the next major character, representing 5, is subtractive: “IV” stands for 4 because it’s five (V) minus one (I). And yet, take a glance at just about any watch dial, or clock dial, for that matter, that uses Roman numerals to denote its hours and most often you will find not a “IV” but a “IIII” - the so-called “clockmaker’s 4,” which differs from the Roman numeral we’re familiar with today. Making watches, as any aficionado knows, is one of the most meticulous, time-intensive, and detail-oriented pursuits in the world...
