See full list on Mar 31, 2018 · Roman numerals were commonly used on early clock dials because they were familiar to people during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Adding numbers also balanced the clock’s aesthetic appeal with its functional purpose. A fourth hypothesis suggests that reading IIII on sundials and later on clocks was easier for the common people. One should remember that both in the Roman era and the Middle Ages, most of the European population was illiterate and innumerate. Reading ‘IV’ would require the knowledge of both subtraction and subtractive notation of Roman numerals. A... Another theory explains the ‘IIII’ phenomenon in relation to the supreme deity of the Romans, namely Jupiter. Being the god of the sky and lightning, Jupiter’s was spelt as IVPPITER in Latin. It is argued that the Romans did want to offend and upset Jupiter by engraving the first two letters of their supreme deity’s on sundials or other a... A fifth theory suggests that using IIII instead of IV was easier and less expensive for the clockmakers. According to this theory, by applying IIII on dials, clockmakers could create all the numerals by using fewer moulds. You can use our Roman numeral converter pageto convert both number to Roman numerals and Roman numerals to number. Another possible explanation is based on aesthetics, symmetry and visual balance concerning the dial. If you observe how Roman numerals are placed on a clock’s dial, you will notice that IIII and VIII balance each other on the below part of the dial as if they are somewhat symmetrical. Using IV instead of IIII would not create the same radial effec... While the correct notation for 4 is IV, Romans originally wrote their numbers based on the additive principle and signified 4 as IIII. The subtractive notation -IV- actually became the standard after the fall of the Roman Empire. Therefore, the Romans initially engraved IIII on many of their sundials and to signify the number 4. Thus, it is argued ...
The shorter subtractive notation enabled better spacing on clock dials and facilitated the inclusion of half-hour markers, making it easier to read the time more accurately. Clocks date back centuries and are one of the oldest forms of communicating time beyond relying on the phases of the moon or the sun in certain positions in the sky. As such, these classical timekeepers usually used the most accepted form of numerals — Roman — on their dials. You may have noticed this somewhat unusual use of Roman numerals on a watch face, with four o’clock represented as ‘IIII’ instead of the ‘IV’. Although it may look wrong, it is actually common in the watch industry to list the IIII as IV for tradition as well as aesthetics. A Roman numeral clock is a timepiece that uses Roman numerals to represent the hours on its clock face instead of the more common Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.). View all IIII or IV on a clock dial face? Why the difference Whether a timepiece uses IIII or IV, what we can probably all agree on is that the use of Roman numerals creates a far more attractive and stylish item than using modern Arabic-based numerals that are either printed on the face or generated on a digital watch or clock.
Roman Clock Numerals and IV or IIII? | UNRV Roman History Why Do Clocks and Watches Use the Roman Numeral IIII Instead ... Why do watches and clocks with Roman numerals use “IIII ... Roman numerals on clock dials - replica Richard Mille rm 52 Roman Numeral Clock - Premier Clocks Why Do Some Clocks Use the Roman Numeral IIII and not IV?