The Mystery of the "Watchmaker’s Four": Why do many clocks and watches with Roman numerals use IIII instead of IV for the number four?

Have you ever glanced at a high-end luxury watch or a classic grandfather clock and noticed something slightly "off"? If you look closely at the number four, you will often see it represented as "IIII" instead of the "IV" we were all taught in school. At first glance, it looks like a glaring typographical error, yet it appears on the faces of some of the most prestigious timepieces in the world, from Rolex to Cartier. Why do many clocks and watches with Roman numerals use IIII instead of IV for the number four? This choice is far from a mistake; it is a deliberate tradition rooted in centuries of aesthetic design, historical precedent, and manufacturing efficiency. This post explores the fascinating reasons why the "Watchmaker’s Four" remains a staple of horology today.

Visual Balance and Aesthetic Symmetry

The most prominent reason horologists prefer IIII over IV is visual harmony. A clock face is a circular canvas, and designers strive for balance across its diameter.

• Weight Distribution: The number eight (VIII) is the heaviest and most complex numeral on the dial. By using IIII instead of IV, the right side of the clock gains more visual "weight," which better balances the VIII on the left side.
• The Rule of Threes: Using IIII creates a cleaner progression for the viewer’s eye. When IIII is used, the first four numerals contain only "I" symbols (I, II, III, IIII), the next four contain "V" symbols (V, VI, VII, VIII), and the final four contain "X" symbols (IX, X, XI, XII). This provides a sense of mathematical rhythm and symmetry that IV would disrupt.

Historical Precedent: The Ancient Roman Way

While we are taught that "IV" is the standard Roman numeral for four, history is more nuanced. The subtractive notation (placing a smaller number before a larger one to subtract it, like IV or IX) only became the rigid standard after the fall of the Roman Empire.

In Ancient Rome, the additive form (IIII) was actually the more common representation. Many public Roman sundials and inscriptions used IIII. Because mechanical clocks were first developed in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance—periods that looked back to Roman antiquity for inspiration—the use of IIII was seen as more traditional and "correct" for formal displays of time.

The Manufacturing "Rule of Four"

Before the era of digital printing, clock numerals were often cast from metal. Clockmakers discovered a clever way to optimize their production efficiency when using IIII. By using this format, the total number of characters required for a full dial (I through XII) consists of:

• 20 Is
• 4 Vs
• 4 Xs

This allowed manufacturers to create a single mold containing five Is, one V, and one X. By casting this mold four times, they would have exactly the right number of characters to complete the clock face. If they had used "IV," the distribution of characters would be uneven, leading to wasted metal and more complex manufacturing processes.

Religious and Royal Legends

Beyond design and math, several popular legends attempt to explain the IIII.

The Jupiter Argument

In the Roman alphabet, the letters "IV" were the beginning of the name "IVPITER" (Jupiter), the king of the gods. Some historians suggest that placing the name of a god on a common timepiece might have been considered irreverent or unlucky, leading Romans to favor IIII instead.

The King’s Decree

Another popular (though likely apocryphal) story involves King Louis XIV of France. Legend has it that a clockmaker presented a clock to the King with the numeral "IV." The King, preferring the look of IIII, insisted it be changed. When the clockmaker argued that IV was grammatically correct, the King reportedly replied, "I am never wrong," and the IIII became the standard for French horology.

Conclusion

The use of IIII instead of IV on clock faces is a unique intersection of history, artistry, and industrial logic. While the subtractive "IV" is what we use in modern writing, the "Watchmaker’s Four" provides a superior sense of visual symmetry, honors ancient Roman traditions, and even offered practical benefits to early manufacturers.

Understanding why many clocks and watches with Roman numerals use IIII instead of IV for the number four? transforms a perceived error into a mark of craftsmanship. The next time you check the time on a Roman numeral dial, you can appreciate the centuries of tradition that keep those four simple lines in place. Whether for beauty or for history, the IIII remains a timeless choice in the world of horology.