I'm more inclined to believe that it is for visually aesthetic reasons over minor manufacturing convenience (with the number of parts and tools required to make a high quality watch, is one more mold really going to break the bank?). I do think it looks more balanced to have IIII instead of IV there. I was just quibbling with that original link's overwrought claims of "perfect symmetry", when it's anything but perfectly symmetrical and contains a clear counterexample in the very next pair of numerals. They couldn't just say, "It looks a little more balanced this way."?
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