Roman Clock Numerals

Roman Numeral Clock Faces

Many analogue watches and clocks still use Roman numerals rather than numbers to display the hours around the face. Using Roman numerals adds an element of style and sophistication to the clock or watch’s appearance, and is the reason why Roman numerals are still so popular with product designers and consumers right up to the present day.

Unlike the Latin language - which has largely been lost to all but scientific names and history students - it seems that Roman numerals, despite being confusing to many people (at least when more than one or two numerals are combined), are here to stay.

An Example of a Roman Numeral Clock

The clock face of Big Ben features Roman numerals

One of the most famous examples of a Roman numeral clock - that is, a clock that features Roman numerals on its face - is the clock of Big Ben at the Houses of Parliament in London, England.

With its four faces, the clock at the top of the Clock Tower (recently renamed the Elizabeth Tower) is a perfect example of how fine architecture and Roman numerals can go hand-in-hand to produce a beautiful and visually impressive clock.

As we shall discover further down on this page, the clock of Big Ben is unusual in that it features IV for the number 4 instead of IIII, which is more common for the faces and dials of clocks and watches.

Smaller Roman Clocks and Wristwatches

Roman numerals are not just used in enormous public clocks, however. Many personal time keeping objects such as the watch on your wrist or the small clock on your mantlepiece or bedside table will have Roman numerals on them instead of our more common numbers.

In an age where digital watches and clocks are common, these more traditional time keeping devices provide a welcome contrast and alternative, and can help to give a room or person a more elegant appearance. For example, an analogue watch with Roman numerals will be considered by many to be more aesthetically pleasing that an electronic, digital wristwatch.

The Big Question – IIII vs IV

Look carefully at a few examples of clocks and watches with Roman numerals on them and you may notice some discrepancy regarding one of the numbers... the number 4. The Roman numeral for 4 is IV, but many clock faces will use IIII instead.

There are a number of possible reasons for why this might be the case, and some of them are more plausible than others. Below are some of the proposed theories as to why IIII is used on some clocks instead of IV, in no particular order of likelihood.

IIII Was The Original Way

Although we write the number 4 in Roman numerals today as IV, there is evidence from ancient inscriptions that the Romans themselves may have just written the number 4 as IIII.

One of the most persuasive arguments for this, aside from being a little easier for the simple, uneducated Roman plebian class who could just count the lines rather than have to add or subtract things, is to do with one of the most important of all Roman gods: Jupiter.

Jupiter is written IVPPITER in Latin, and it has been proposed that the Romans were fearful of writing part of Jupiter’s name on anything mundane, including a clock face, especially if it were to fall and break for example, in case it caused offence to him.

The Romans believed that everything that happened was not only the will of the gods, but that the gods took those actions based on what the Romans had (or had not) done. As god of the sky and thunder, and king of the gods, Jupiter was the one deity more than any that the Romans didn’t want to upset, so if there was even a tiny chance of doing something that would upset him, it was best not to take the risk! Instead of writing IV for 4, the Romans wrote IIII instead, just to be on the safe side.

It was only during the Renaissance period, long after the fall of the Roman empire, that the subtractive notation of writing and reading Roman numerals became the standard.

The Latin language was the official language of the church, and used extensively in official state records and business. This was particularly handy if dealing with other nations, as Latin served in many ways as a common language during the Renaissance period. Those educated enough to produce a mechanical clock - during a time when education and the teachings of the church were heavily linked - would have been very familiar with Roman numerals. Most clocks of the day were installed in church towers or official public buildings too, which is another reason as to why Roman numerals were favored for these.

The question remains though, during a period when IV was now the accepted standard for writing the number 4 in Roman numerals, why clock makers of the time continued to use IIII. Were they just nostalgic and keen to portray the accuracy of the past? Just like the ancients, did they too believe that it would be easier for the uneducated peasants to count the lines rather than try and work out the math? Or was one of the reasons below also a factor?

Visual Appearance

The numerals on the dial of the Big Ben picture above are actually relatively small compared to the face size. On other clocks, the Roman numerals are much more prominent. This can mean, from a visual perspective, the face can look a little “lopsided” by having IV (two numerals) in the 4 position and VIII (four numerals) in the 8 position.

As a large part of using Roman numerals in today’s clocks is purely for the visual aspect, using IIII one side and VIII on the other (both containing four numerals) provides a more balanced look.

Using IIII means that numbers 1-4 contain an I, only numbers 5-8 contain a V, and only numbers 9-12 contain an X, which is another consideration when looking at a Roman numeral clock from a purely visual perspective!

The Casting Process

Many of these ornate clocks adorning churches and public buildings have numerals that are cast out of metal. As some such as the Big Ben tower have four faces, this means a lot of numerals need to be cast. Plus, this is just for one clock. If you were a clock manufacturer, this all adds up to a lot of molds and casting.

If IIII is used to represent the number 4, then an even number of numerals need to be cast to make up one clock face (20 Is, 4 Vs, and 4 Xs). Because all of these are divisible by two, it would allow for an efficient mold that had half on one side and half on the other. Alternatively, because the numbers are also divisible by four, a much smaller mold that created the letters XVIIIII could be used four times to produce the correct amount of letters, again with no wastage.

If IV is used for four instead, however, the total number of numerals needing to be cast changes to 4 Xs, 5 Vs and 17 Is, which does not divide equally, and would either mean extra casting, or potential leftover numerals.

King Louis XIV of France

During the renaissance period, when mechanical clockmaking was at it’s peak, France was one of the most important countries in the industry.

It has been said that King Louis XIV (that’s fourteen for those yet to learn their Roman numerals or not used the Roman numeral converter tool!), who reigned between 1643 and 1715 AD, preferred the use of IIII instead of IV. This then became the norm for the majority of clocks manufactured after this.

Perhaps this is why the clock of Big Ben goes somewhat against convention and says IV instead of IIII... the British did not want to conform to the French way of thinking or doing things!

Whether there is any truth regarding King Louis XIV’s involvement in the clock making industry is open to conjecture. If he did have a preference for IIII, there is no mention of him being referred to as King Louis XIIII... maybe he only liked IIII on clocks?

Conclusion

The reality is that all, none or parts of any of the above reasons may explain why, in the majority of cases, IIII is preferred in clock and watches to denote the number 4 instead of IV. There may also be another reason or reasons, which have simply been forgotten by time (pun intended).

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 Numerals in The News:

Hidden Roman Numerals Unearthed on the Historic Stone of Destiny

Did you know...
The first evidence of zero is from the Sumerian culture in Mesopotamia, some 5,000 years ago. The symbol changed over time as positional notation, for which zero was crucial, made its way to the Babylonian empire and from there to India, and to the Greeks. The Romans had no trace of it at all.