The Mystery of Numerical Notation on the Dial Plate - 4 is Expressed as IIII, not IV. The numerical notation of 4 is IV in Roman numerals.
Grand Central Station, NYC – IIII to mark 4 o'clock. However, even though it is now widely accepted that 4 must be written IV, the original and most ancient pattern for Roman numerals wasn't the same as what we know today. Earliest models did, in fact, use VIIII for 9 (instead of IX) and IIII for 4 (instead of IV).
When Roman numerals were in use by the Roman Empire, the name of the Romans' supreme deity, Jupiter, was spelled as IVPPITER in Latin. There was a feeling that using the start of Jupiter's name on a clock dial, and it being upside down where it fell, would be disrespectful to the deity, so IIII was introduced instead.
The face just looks more symmetrical that way. That's the theory favored by most horologists. Latin scholars point out that the ancient Romans themselves didn't use IV for 4; they used IIII.
IIII Looks Better Than IV on the Dial
This makes for a harmonious dial design – something everyone wants in a luxury timepiece.
The numerical notation of 4 is IV in Roman numerals. You probably think so, too. However, there are many cases where IIII is used at the 4:00 position on the dial plates of clocks that use Roman numerals.
For this reason, the default watch face has a fourth hand. The fourth hand points to the UTC hour, allowing for timed coordination over multiple time zones. The hand will travel around the face of the watch once every 24 hours. In the screenshot below, the time is 2310 UTC, and 3:10 PM Pacific Standard Time.
The reason is, simply, preference and writing style. If you can write one of these faster by hand, you'll use that more naturally because it's quicker. You may also train yourself to write a certain way, if you do really prefer one over another, but so long as it's readable it's fine to use any.
These roman numerals are I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X represent 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 respectively. After 10, the roman numerals are followed by XI for 11, XII for 12, XII for 13, … till XX for 20.
Hence, the value of 4 in Roman Numerals is IV.
This is apparently because “IV” is an abbreviation for “Jupiter” in Roman times. So they decided to use “IIII” so that their public clocks didn't have “1 2 3 GOD 5…” written on them.
After the twelfth hour with the twelve rings of the bell, the next hour should be with one ring only, indicating 1 o'clock plus twelve hours. Accordingly, with very rare exceptions, when a clock rings thirteen times it is indicating an impossible time and that the clock is not functioning correctly.
It's all about aesthetics and clarity. The time at 10:10 shows you the dial of the watch in the best possible way it can be seen. This is obviously true for most analogue watch dials.
While writing a Roman numeral, only the numerals I, X, C and M can be repeated. V, L and D cannot be repeated.
In rules for formation of Roman-numerals system there is no symbol or digit for zero.
LC in roman numeral is incorrect.
2023 is MMXXIII in Roman numerals.
noun A Roman numeral representing the number thirty (30). initialism Extra extra large, the size above XL (extra large)
The number "four" can be written as either "4" or "four." Both are considered correct ways to represent the number.
The number 4 is represented as four when written as a number name. Number 4 is illustrated as fourth or 4th when written in an ordinal name. When written as a roman numeral, the number 4 is represented by the letter lV.
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