The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Recently I was presented with a new Evolution with a black face and roman numerals. I began to study the watch face and noticed that at the 4 o'clock mark there was the roman numeral III. Was I gifted a fraud? This seemed odd to me. Can someone help me with an explaination?

It is strange, but at the 4 position on the roman numeral Evo there is the roman numeral IIII. Now we were always taught in grade school that 4 in roman numerals was expressed as IV, but for asesthetic purposes the 4 is expressed with an additional "I" rather than IV. This does not make it a fake, this is how it is supposed to be

_________________
Chrono Superocean (Black)
Rolex Datejust II rhodium/ Arabic dial

My Crosswind (Evo predecessor) has the same thing. And yes, people have asked me why they did this. Apparently, with the number four in Roman numerals, there can be an artistic license to do this.

I also heard that on clocks this isn't uncommon, and the symbol "IV" also represents "God." So they didn't want the clocks to read "1, 2, 3 God, 5" etc. I don't know if that's a load or what, but the point is, your watch (if this is the only issue) should be authentic.

_________________
Avenger Skyland
If I said I was good, you'd think I was bragging.
If I told you I wasn't, you'd know I was lying.

It's the same on every clock (with romans) the world over.

I've heard the God story before, but I was always of the belief that it was from King something the other of England who thought that the watch face was unbalanced with the IV and therefore it was changed to IIII.

The God story is true, as far as I know. IV is an abbreviation for the roman God Jupiter, which was spelled IVPITER, or IV in short.

_________________
Collection: http://s540.photobucket.com/albums/gg32 ... mview=grid

I also heard that.

The notation of Roman numerals has varied through the centuries. Originally, it was common to use IIII to represent "four", because IV represented the god Jove (and later YHWH). The subtractive notation (which uses IV instead of IIII) has become universally used only in modern times.


And I checked the Breitling Evolution online to verfiy and in fact it had IIII for 4, so it seems that your watch is a good one, CONGRATS!

_________________
Saving my pennies for the dream......
Breitling Bentley Mulliner Men's Tourbillon Watch Manual Wind Chronograph Platinum Black Dial on Black Leather Strap

"Why is the Roman Numeral IIII Used Instead of IV?

It appears that no one really knows why is the roman numeral IIII is used instead of IV on clocks and watches, but there are quite a few theories. The best discussions I've found on the subject are Gordon Uber's FAQ: Roman IIII vs IV web page and Donn Lathrop's To IV, or Not to IV web page.

It is likely that the use of IIII instead of IV has several causes. Some of the theories include:


Using IIII brings more symmetry and balance to the dial. The IIII offsets the heavy VIII that is found on the other side. This theory, I think, is probably the strongest theory for the use of IIII.

The strict use of IV instead of IIII wasn't common until after the middle ages, the Romans generally used IIII. Clocks (and watches) are patterned after sundials, which were in use long before the middle ages. I think this is probably the second strongest reason. There is a lot of tradition in watches and clocks.

Using four I's instead of one I and one V makes it easier to cast the metal numerals. This theory seems kind of weak to me. Why would watchmakers and clockmakers, who spend gobs of time making complicated mechanisms, fancy dials, and beautiful cases, choose IIII over IV just because it is slightly easier to make?

The first two letters of Jupiter would often be written as IV because curved letters are hard to cut into stone. Therefore some people thought it was sacrilegious to use IV. Of course, few people still worshiped Jupiter when the first clocks were being made, so this doesn't seem to be a very strong theory on its own. It may have influenced the Romans in their use of IIII instead of IV.

There are various stories about how various kings either declared IIII to be correct, or objecting to the use of IV because they were King Something the IV. The problem with these stories is that the use of IIII generally preceded these various kings, the theory doesn't explain the wide spread usage of IIII across all kindoms, and the lack of details and contradictions in the stories make them all sound like urban legends.

Most watch and clockmakers were just ordinary folks, but it would have taken a doctor or a registered nurse to give an "IV." (This bad joke is complements of Steve Maddox.) "

reference http://elginwatches.org/help/roman_IIII.html

Is that a "III" at the 4 o'clock position or a"IIII"

_________________
Aerospace Titanium & Gold - Grey Face
B-1 on Fighter/Blue Shark - Blue Face
Emergency on Pro - Yellow Face

To complete the collection:
Navi 01 46/Black leather - Black/white
Montbrillant Datora/Navi - White face


LEARNING.......EVERY DAY

[quote="Breitling Bloke"][quote="papa mas"]Recently I was presented with a new Evolution with a black face and roman numerals. I began to study the watch face and noticed that at the 4 o'clock mark there was the roman numeral III. Was I gifted a fraud? This seemed odd to me. Can someone help me with an explaination?[/quote]



Is that a "III" at the 4 o'clock position or a"IIII"[/quote]

Indeed. This seems strange, Breitling would not make such a mistake.

_________________
Breitling Colt (Blue)

www.gunnarandreassen.com