I’ve been tinkering with a new project lately, and I thought I’d share my process with you all. It’s a Roman numeral clock, but with a twist – instead of the usual “IV” for 4, it uses “IIII”.
I got this idea a while back. I saw a clock with “IIII” instead of “IV” and it got me curious. Why do some clocks use “IIII”? There’s a bunch of reasons out there, but nothing really solid.
So, I decided to make my own Roman numeral clock using “IIII”. First off, I had to figure out how I wanted the clock to look. I spent some time sketching out different designs. I wanted to keep it simple, but also make sure the “IIII” didn’t look out of place.
Once I had a design I liked, I started gathering my materials. For the clock face, I just used a piece of wood I had lying around. I’m not much of an artist, so I used stencils to paint the Roman numerals onto the wood.
- I
- II
- III
- IIII
- V
- VI
- VII
- VIII
- IX
- X
- XI
- XII
It was a bit tricky getting the spacing right, but I think it turned out okay. The “IIII” does look a little unusual, but I think it adds character. Some people say using “IIII” helps to balance out the clock face visually. It creates three areas on the dial, with one third using only “I’s”.
The clock mechanism was the next challenge. I ended up just buying a cheap clock from the store and taking it apart. I figured it would be easier than trying to build one from scratch. I attached the mechanism to the back of the wooden clock face, and voila, I had a working clock!
Why “IIII” on a clock?
One theory I found goes back to the late 14th century with King Charles V, but who really knows? Another one is about the Roman god Jupiter, whose name was spelled “IVPPITER” in Latin. They say using “IV” on a clock might have been seen as disrespectful. Like using the start of Jupiter’s name on a clock dial and it being upside down half the time? Yeah, maybe not the best idea. So, some clockmakers might have used “IIII” instead.
Honestly, I don’t know the real reason why some clocks use “IIII”. I’m not a clock expert. I just thought it would be a fun project. And it was! It was a bit of a challenge, but I’m happy with how it turned out. It’s not perfect, but it’s mine. And it tells the time, which is the main thing, right? Maybe this will inspire some of you to try your own DIY projects. It is really a good way to kill time.
