References with Roman numerals at the hour positions: the traditional dress-watch marker, associated with classical Geneva and Glashütte aesthetics.
Roman-numeral dials carry I–XII in printed or applied form at the hour positions. Roman numerals are associated with classical dress-watch aesthetics, the Cartier Tank, the Vacheron Patrimony, many Patek Calatrava references, and the IWC Portofino use Roman numerals as a deliberate signal of Geneva or Glashütte formal tradition. The numerals read as historical and restrained; on a thin dress watch with blued-steel hands they communicate differently than on a sport case. Roman numerals require a wider dial segment per marker than Arabic, which is why they're almost exclusively found on dress or classical-complication references rather than sport pieces where dial real estate is at a premium.
