Video: Watch the William Barthman Clock Get Reset for Daylight Savings
November 12, 2026
They say you should look up while walking around to appreciate skyscraper-laden New York City, which is true. But if you prefer to stare at the ground, the corner of Broadway and Maiden Lane has a little treat for you. Embedded in the sidewalk outside 176 Broadway, you’ll find the William Barthman Jeweler Clock, a working, time-telling piece of history located right below your feet.
Known as the “Downtown Tiffany,” William Barthman Jeweler dates back to Lower Manhattan’s diamond district days in the 1880s, drawing legendary patrons like the Morgans and the Vanderbilts, actors and actresses, and even some New York mayors. The original shop was located at 176 Broadway, and to mark it, in 1899 Barthman himself installed an outdoor clock in the sidewalk right outside. The clock has long been a Lower Manhattan conversation piece, and in 1946, New York police estimated that 51,000 people stepped over the clock every day between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Barthman’s shop has since relocated within the neighborhood, but his watchful creation remains embedded at the corner, surviving the forces of 9/11, a glass-breaking hand truck that rolled over the sign about a decade ago, and many, many feet.
Just a few days after Daylight Savings ended, we ventured below ground to 176 Broadway’s basement to watch master jeweler Gilo Vintimilla adjust the clock back an hour. Check out the magic below, and be sure to visit both the clock and William Barthman Jeweler at 20 Broad St. when you’re out and about in the nabe.
