The first public clock in Paris, commissioned in 1370 by Charles V from the Lorraine clockmaker Henri de Vic, played a key role in standardising timekeeping in France. The mechanism was placed in 1371 on the façade of the north-east watchtower of the royal palace, a building that was converted into a prison at the end of the 14th century and into the Palace of Justice in the 19th century. The clock has been modified several times, and as a result of one of these changes, it has become a testimony to joint Polish-French history and the reign of the ruler who ruled over both countries in the 16th century.

Polish accent

During the reign of King Henry III of France and the Republic of Poland Henry III of Valois (1551-1589), around 1585, the dial was enriched with a rich architectural and sculptural setting, designed by French sculptor Germain Pilon (1525-1590). The space around the dial face was then decorated with gilding and painting in royal blue. The dial face, stylised as a sun, was surrounded by allegorical figures. To the left is situated the allegory of the Law, holding a sceptre, and a plaque with the Latin inscription: "Sacra Dei celebrare pius regale time jus" (The pious towards the saints also respects the royal law). To the right was a statue of the Greek goddess of law and justice, Themis, depicted with a scale - a symbol of divine justice of royal authority, and with a sword - signifying the ability to administer punishment.

A rectangular plate with the Latin motto was then placed above the clock mechanism: "Qui dedit ante duas, triplicen dabit ille coronam" ("He who has already endowed him with two [Polish and French] will give him a third crown [in heaven]"). This sentence refers to the history of Henry III Valois, whose royal coat of arms appears above, and to the idea of the reward that the pious ruler, faithfully serving God and the people, was to obtain after death in the form of eternal life.

The central elements of the dial's setting are the royal coats of arms of Henry III Valois in a cartouche supported by putti above the mechanism: Capetian lilies on a blue background under a crown, symbolising France, and a bipartite shield in a column, with a White Eagle and a Pogo under a crown, representing the Republic of Poland. Surrounding both shields of the coat of arms was formed an ogee of the order chains of Saint Michael (with shells) and Saint Spirit (with Capetian lilies). The entire heraldic composition is surmounted by a common, larger royal crown. The crowns shown are all French crowns decorated with lilies, emphasising Henry III's origins in the Valois dynasty.

Similar heraldic compositions combining the shields of France and the Republic from the reign of Henry III de Valois can be found on numerous medals or objects of everyday use associated with the king, including the coat of arms of the Chevaliers of the Order of the Holy Spirit, currently in the collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. These objects are a valuable testimony to the fact that, despite his short reign of only five months over the Republic in 1573-1574 - let us recall that after the death of his brother, Charles IX of Valois, the first elected king of Poland fled to France to take the throne there, which in the Republic was considered an abdication - Henry III Valezy considered himself king of the country on the Vistula for many years. Henry III's use of the aforementioned heraldic compositions testifies to the conscious creation of a ruler aiming to exalt his majesty and emphasise his place on the throne of the Republic.

Below the clock face a rectangular panel with an inscription in Latin: "Machina quae bis sex tam juste dividit horas, justitiam servare monet legesque tueri" (A mechanism that accurately divides time into twelve hours, exhorting us to protect justice and obey the laws).