Among the many stories that relate to a monarch with the fact that the 4 in the clocks is written IIII, two stand out. The most credible is the one that explains that, in the year 1370, the watchmaker Henry de Vick was commissioned to make a clock that would be placed in the tower of the Royal Palace of France (known as La Conciergerie or the Palais de la Cité). King Charles V of France rebuked the craftsman for having represented the 4th as IV.
The watchmaker pointed out that this was how it was written, but Carlos V responded angrily: "The King never makes a mistake" (for something he was nicknamed El sabio). Therefore, the use of the IIII should continue. The clock made by de Vick continues to be placed there.
The second monarchy explains that a Swiss watchmaker made a watch commissioned by his sovereign, making the mistake of representing the number 4 as IIII and not IV. The king ordered the artisan to be executed and, in protest against such a fact and homage, all the colleagues of the watchmaker's profession decided to use the IIII instead of the IV.
Why in some watches the 4 appears written IIII and not IV? (PART I)
