Time: it's our most valuable resource in life. Without time, nothing we accumulate can be used, spent, or enjoyed. Punctuality is seen as crucially important in Western culture. It's why clocks can be found everywhere. Keeping track of time when you're lost in a video game, however, can be challenging, especially one that has its own time system like Stardew Valley.
Wasting time doing annoying maintenance tasks can be quite frustrating. One example is clearing the farm field of weeds and debris at the beginning of every season, since it really hinders the tilling and planting process. Luckily, there's a special item that can prevent debris from ever appearing on your farm again, saving you precious time: The Gold Clock.
This structure is known by many as the holy grail of Stardew Valley accomplishments (besides the Perfection Score) and is largely a status symbol along with its debris-banishing powers and ability to prevent fences from decaying. Read on to learn how to obtain the Gold Clock and have more time for farming, mining, and romancing townsfolk.
Complete The Community Center
In order to get access to any of the magic structures that the Wizard's book can provide, you'll first need to complete The Community Center (or the Joja Warehouse, if you prefer.) This is considered one of the main quests in the game and requires you to dip your hands into basically every activity the game has to offer: Mining, Farming, Fishing, Foraging, Animal-raising, Cooking, Fighting, and, of course, earning money. You'll have to do a lot more of that last one to get the Gold Clock.
Once you've completed every single bundle in the center, you'll be rewarded with a wonderful house-warming cutscene and access to the quests needed to unlock the magical structures. Just walk over to the railroad to trigger the necessary cutscene for the first quest, "Dark Talisman."
Complete The Wizard's Quests
Dark Talisman finds the player being asked a favor by the Wizard: help him get back his Magic Ink from his ex, the Witch. You may have seen her flying across the Valley or had her zap your Coop or Slime Hutch. This can result in an Egg being turned into a Void Egg, which will hatch a Void Chicken. A curse to your Slime Hutch will turn all of your Slimes black; defeating black Slimes will produce lots of Coal.
The Wizard describes his ex as immature, which explains why she won't give back the Ink. You'll have to get it yourself, but doing so requires obtaining a Dark Talisman to gain access to her house. Speak with Krobus and he'll tell you a Dark Talisman lies at the end of the Mutant Bug Lair, a small, one-floor dungeon in the Sewers of Pelican Town. The bugs aren't too powerful, but they are pretty annoying, if not a good source of Bug Meat.
Getting the Talisman will unlock the next quest, "Goblin Problem." The Witch has a Goblin Henchman blocking the way to her home, and he won't budge for anything, or so he says. What you'll need is Void Mayonnaise, an apparently irresistible treat for this Goblin. Void Mayonnaise is just Void Eggs put into a Mayonnaise Machine, so you can just buy some Void Eggs from Krobus' shop. Additionally, you can also fish in the Witch's Swamp and you'll sometimes reel in a jar, which is much quicker.
Once the Goblin acquiesces, you can run into the Witch's house and grab the Ink (don't worry, she won't be home.) To show his thanks, the Wizard will allow you to flip through his magic book and conjure the Gold Clock on your farm...for a price.
Raise A Ton Of Money
You'll need 10,000,000 gold in order to buy the Gold Clock — yes, ten million. It may seem impossible, but by following these tips, it may take less time than you thought to come up with the cash. It's all about expanding your farm business as much as possible. Any empty space left on your farm is a space that could be making you money, so be economical about your designs and blueprints.
Unlock the Island Farm
As of Update 1.5, players can travel to the Fern Islands and explore a whole new region of the game. Ginger Island has a large plot of land where a farmhouse used to be. If you've collected enough Golden Walnuts, you can get the local parrots to restore the farmhouse for you, allowing you to sleep there overnight and even have your mail delivered there.
Crops can be grown in the large plot of land near the farmhouse. This extra space can bring in massive amounts of gold, especially if you plant Pineapples, which are worth 300 gold at regular quality and keep producing pineapples every 7 days. You can grow any type of crop on the island thanks to its eternal heat and sunshine, so it's a huge benefit for any farmer looking to save up their gold.
Kegs
These are the best and most reliable way of making money in the game, full-stop. When you put a crop into a Keg, it triples the amount of gold that it's worth. A normal Melon is worth 250 gold when shipped; A regular-quality bottle of Melon Wine will be worth 750g. In order to triple the value of silver, gold, or Iridium-quality crops, they will have to be placed into your basement Casks, which can be obtained from a house upgrade by town carpenter Robin.
Even if you don't have Casks, converting a gold-quality fruit into wine will still increase your profits. Check out the most profitable fruits to turn into wine in order to best utilize your farm space. Cauliflower and Pumpkins pull good profit when turned into juices too, so consider them when you're stocking up on seeds.
Casks
Casks make any Wine placed in them more valuable over time by raising its quality. This is the only way to get Iridium-quality wine, but it's very, very worth it. Casks can also age Beer, Pale Ale, Mead, and Goat Cheese, but it's much more sensible to focus on Wine since it's the biggest profit-maker.
The Cellar can be purchased from Robin for 100,000 gold and comes with 33 Casks, though it can be filled with around 125 Casks while still allowing movement between them. Wine will take a total of 56 days to age to Iridium-quality and will result in a profit of triple the Wine's original value. This can be increased if the player has both the Tiller Profession (+10% to Sell Price to crops) and the Artisan Profession (+40% Sell Price to Artisan Goods.) Melon Wine can reach profits of up to 2,100 gold per Iridium-quality bottle using both Professions.
The only downside to the Casks is having to wait so long for said profit boost, though Update 1.5 has introduced an amazing solution to this: Fairy Dust.
Fairy Dust
This magical item is a must-have for those wanting money fast. Fairy Dust can be sprinkled onto refining equipment in order to finish the process instantly and receive the product. This can be used on both Kegs and Casks, meaning fruit can be turned into Wine in a single second. Fairy Dust on Casks increases the quality level by one with each sprinkle, so it will take three uses of the item to get instant Iridium-quality Wine.
You can obtain the recipe for this item from "The Pirate's Wife," a quest that you can unlock by talking to Birdie on Ginger Island. It's a late-game quest, so you'll have to go through a lot to get the Fairy Dust recipe, but it's a lifesaver for those producing a constant supply of fruit. All it takes is a Fairy Rose flower and a Diamond. If you're struggling with getting the Diamonds you need, investing in lots of Crystalariums is the best solution.
Crystalariums
This fascinating device can be unlocked at Mining Level 9 and can be used to produce an infinite number of gems and minerals. When you put a gem/mineral into the machine, it will produce a copy after some time (which varies depending on the item.) Diamonds are the most profitable gem and take five days to replicate. Having a full shed of Crystalariums can ensure you have a steady supply of Diamonds, whether for Fairy Dust or simply for more gold.
Build Your Clock!
However you decide to make money, you'll need to save it up for a while. Sooner than later, you'll be able to erect a shimmering Gold Clock to show everyone that you're the most prosperous farmer the Valley has ever seen. Also, no fence decay, weeds, or debris. That's good, too.
If you're looking to complete the Perfection Tracker in Qi's Walnut Room and truly finish the game, the Gold Clock is one of the requirements.
The Gold Clock has a footprint of three tiles across and two tiles vertically. It's small but effective, and it's the ultimate way to say "welcome to the top."