

It’s clocked and loaded.
Col & McArthur is commemorating America’s 250th Birthday with a blast from the past — a $900 luxury watch called the Patriot 1776 that incorporates part of an authentic Revolutionary War musket ball.
“Preserved across centuries, this historical material carries the weight of the revolution… now placed on your wrist,” the watchmaker writes on their site.
The bona fide bullet fragment was reportedly recovered from Fort Ticonderoga, whose pivotal capture in 1775 marked the colonials’ first offensive victory during America’s War of Independence. Its sourcing was verified by Iron & Paper, American specialists in Revolutionary War artifacts.
Col & McArthur then used the historic shrapnel to craft one of the Patriot 1776’s subdials, allowing wearers to carry a literal piece of our history wherever they go — even if it doesn’t make the secondhand go faster than a speeding bullet.
This historical homage beyond the reincarnated musketball. The watch features a treasure trove of Easter Eggs pertaining to our nation’s founding.
Emblazoned around the periphery of Patriot 1776, which was named after the date of the Declaration of Independence’s signing, are the initials and founding dates of the original 13 colonies.
The timepiece is also inlaid with 50 stars, one for each of the 50 states.
Encircling the subdial is the famed Leviticus quote that’s engraved on the Liberty Bell: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”
On the other side of the time capsule, meanwhile, is a star inscribed with the U.S. date and place of birth — Independence Hall, Pennsylvania, July 4, 1776 — and framed by the names of Benjamin Franklin and other key signers of the Declaration Of Independence.
This is ringed by the engraved line, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
Despite its 250-year-old shrapnel, the Patriot 1776 employs a highly reliable modern mechanism: an automatic or battery-powered Quartz movement manufactured by the Swiss company Ronda. The movement also features a patinated gold finish and five jewels to reduce wear and tear where the gears meet.
Housing this is a 43mm stainless steel case and “scratch-resistant” sapphire crystal, allowing people to view the repurposed musket ball.
Total price for the Minuteman homage that ticks away actual minutes: $899.
Revolutionary War buffs better get this reincarnated artifact while they can: The automatic version of the Patriot 1776 is “strictly limited to 500 numbered pieces worldwide,” per the site.
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