Scottish Clans
Black Watch Tartans & Clan
Black Watch is a British Army Regiment, first formed in 1725, following the Jacobite rebellion in 1715. Today the Black Watch are known as The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) and an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
Who Wears Black Watch Tartan? - Associated Names
First of all to explain why there are so many tartans, way over 2000 in fact. There are an awful lot of Scottish clans to start with and on top of this each clan can have many different tartans and names associated with it.
- Campbell
- Fraser of Lovat
- Grant
- Munro
Associated Regiments
Over the last 300 years, tartans have been a part of official dress for some of the most famous regiments throughout the military world! Their respective regimental tartans became undisputedly tied to the very core identity of the soldiers who wear it. Explore the associated regiments below:
- Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
- Argyllshire Highlanders, 91st
- Auckland Highland Rifle Volunteers (NZ)
- Black Watch (The Royal Highland Regt)
- Black Watch of Canada
- Dunedin Highland Rifle Volunteers (NZ)
- Gurkha Rifles 5th, 2nd Bt. (Punjab)
- Gurkha Rifles, 6th (Punjab)
- Gurkha Rifles, 8th (Bengal)
- Glasgow Highlanders
- New Zealand 1st Armoured Car Regiment
- New South Wales Scottish (Aus)
- Punjabis, 22nd (Punjab)
- Royal Durban Light Infantry (SA)
- Royal New South Wales Regiment (Aus)
- Royal Regiment of Scotland
- Tyneside Scottish
- Wellington Highlanders (NZ)
Black Watch Tartans
9 variationsEach tartan can have multiple variations, the most common of which are Ancient, Modern, Weathered, Hunting and Dress
About tartan variations
- Ancient
- Modern
- Weathered
- Hunting
- One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if
Ancient Tartan
Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer colours typical of the Ancient tartans, mossy greens and sky blues, a more orangey red and some would say showing off the pattern to much greater effect as as the contrasts are much brighter than the Modern tartans. The pattern or sett remains the same across all variations of a single tartan, and only the shades or tones vary.
Helpful Advice
Post 1860 chemical dyes replaced the natural animal and vegetable dyes and the Modern Tartans were born with their stronger and bolder colours. The soft greens and blues become bottle green and navy blue, reds are scarlet.
Modern Tartan
Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer colours typical of the Ancient tartans. Post 1860 chemical dyes replaced the natural animal and vegetable dyes and the Modern Tartans were born with their stronger and bolder colours. The soft greens and blues become bottle green and navy blue, reds are scarlet.
Helpful Advice
The Modern tartans are often the more subtle combinations such as the classic Black Watch Modern
Weathered Tartan
Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer, more earthy colours typical of the Weathered tartans, reminiscent of bolder colours subjected to wind, rain and sunshine producing beautiful faded tones, olive greens and browns, and very light blues with reds that are more pink than red.
Helpful Advice
Some mills refer to the Weathered tartans as Muted.
Hunting Tartan
The Hunting Tartans are the camouflage tartans and some clans don't have these variations because they are already predominantly green or brown and don't need amendment to blend in with nature's colours. The Black Watch or Gunn tartans are examples of these, whereas a tartan such as the Fraser is predominantly red and would not provide much cover for men out hunting.
Helpful Advice
One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if you need an exact match we suggest you order a swatch to double check.
One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if Tartan
The Dress Tartans were designed as the name suggests for celebrations and highland dance. The sett or pattern of the tartan remains the same and the main colour is changed to white, or extra white is added to the pattern to give it a brighter, more "fancy" appearance. The Scots do like to bend the rules and occasionally instead of white thread, yellow is used and this is where the rather wild MacLeod Dress Modern and Barclay Dress Modern came from.
Helpful Advice
One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if you need an exact match we suggest you order a swatch to double check.
From the start
Black Watch Clan Origins & History
Explore the history of Black Watch
How it all started
Territories
In 1725, General George Wade was authorised to form six "watch" companies to patrol over the Scottish Highlands.
Clan Chief
The Black Watch was an infantry unit born in the aftermath of the First Jacobite Rebellion of 1715. The senior Highland regiment, it went on to fight in nearly all the British Army's campaigns and is now part of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
What's in the name?
The regiment was known in Gaelic as Am Freiceadan Dubh meaning The Dark or Black Watch. It originated from the dark colours of the tartan they wore and they fact their job was to 'watch' over the Highlands.
Responsibilities
The duties of the Black Watch were to prevent fighting among clans, bring criminals to justice, disarm men carrying weapons and essentially keep the peace among the highlands.
Who was a part of the Black Watch?
Six Companies were formed in 1725 to create the Black Watch, Three from Clan Campbell, one from Clan Fraser of Lovat, one from Clan Munro and one from Clan Grant. You can read more about the Black Watch story on the blog.
Regiment Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (No One Provokes Me With Impunity)
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