University of Edinburgh Tartan Watches & Gift Ideas

Key Takeaways

• We've partnered with the University of Edinburgh to create an officially licensed tartan watch collection, including watches, Apple Watch straps, and watch cases.
• Every piece is made in our workshop using the university's own tartan, which was commissioned in 2007 and is recorded in the Scottish Register of Tartans.
• The collection has been designed with graduation, alumni pride, and meaningful gift-giving in mind.
• The University of Edinburgh was founded in 1583 and is one of Scotland's four ancient universities, with alumni whose contributions span literature, science, medicine, and public life.
• Each piece ships worldwide, with free UK delivery.

We're genuinely thrilled to share something that's been in the making for a while now. Our new partnership with the University of Edinburgh means we're creating tartan watches, Apple Watch straps, and watch cases using the official University of Edinburgh tartan. And for us, that's not just another product launch. It's a real privilege.

A university that's shaped centuries of Scottish intellectual life deserves to be celebrated properly. That's what we've set out to do.

Why the University of Edinburgh Is Unlike Any Other Institution

Founded by royal charter in 1582 and opened to students in 1583, the University of Edinburgh is one of Scotland's four ancient universities and the sixth-oldest university in continuous operation in the English-speaking world. It opened its doors to around 80 students. Today, it receives close to 47,000 applications every year.

What happened between those two moments is a story worth knowing.

By the 18th century, the university had become one of the principal centres of the Scottish Enlightenment. It earned Edinburgh its nickname as the "Athens of the North," a city where ideas weren't just discussed but genuinely changed the world. Philosophers, scientists, economists, and writers all studied, taught, and debated within its walls. The university's professors helped establish the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1783, and Edinburgh academics contributed to discoveries including the isolation of carbon dioxide and the principles of modern geology.

That history doesn't sit quietly in the past. It's woven into the city's character and into the identity of every person who's studied there.

The Alumni Who Shaped the World

When you think about the range of people who've passed through Edinburgh's lecture halls, it's hard not to feel the weight of the place. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle studied medicine there before giving the world Sherlock Holmes. Charles Darwin attended as a young student, and his observations during that period contributed to the path that led to On the Origin of Species. Alexander Graham Bell, whose family was deeply connected to Edinburgh, credited his time there as foundational. Robert Louis Stevenson studied law at Edinburgh before pursuing the writing career that gave us Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

In economics, Adam Smith, whose Wealth of Nations effectively created the modern discipline, had close ties to Edinburgh's intellectual circles. In medicine, Joseph Lister developed the principles of antiseptic surgery while working in Scotland. More recently, Sir Chris Hoy, one of Britain's most decorated Olympians, studied at Edinburgh. Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown studied and later lectured at the university.

That's not a list assembled for effect. It reflects something real about what Edinburgh produces. People who change things.

The University of Edinburgh Tartan: Why It Matters

Not every university has its own tartan. The University of Edinburgh commissioned its tartan in 2007, and it's officially recognised by the Scottish Register of Tartans, the national register maintained by the National Records of Scotland. That registration matters. It's the difference between a generic Scottish pattern slapped onto merchandise and a design that genuinely belongs to the institution.

When we create pieces using this tartan, we're working with the real thing. Not a lookalike. Not an approximation. The actual University of Edinburgh tartan, woven in Scotland, used under official licence.

Tartan has always been about identity. Each registered pattern belongs to someone, whether a clan, a regiment, or in this case, one of the world's great universities. Wearing it carries meaning. And in a graduation gift or an alumni keepsake, that meaning is exactly the point.

Edinburgh as a City: What It Feels Like to Study There

If you've spent time in Edinburgh, you'll know what we mean when we say the city has a particular atmosphere. The Old Town climbs steeply from the Grassmarket, the closes and wynds between the buildings are narrow and cobbled, and the skyline is dominated by the castle. It's a city that genuinely looks like it came out of a novel.

For students, there's something about walking between lectures through streets that have carried that same weight of history for centuries. Graduation photos taken outside McEwan Hall, with its red sandstone facade and domed roof, have been a fixture of the Edinburgh experience since the building opened in 1897. That moment of walking across the stage, with family in the audience and the whole ceremony of it, is one of the things people remember most clearly years later.

The university doesn't just sit in Edinburgh. It's part of the city's fabric. And that connection is something we've tried to carry into every piece we make.

What We've Made: The University of Edinburgh Collection

Our University of Edinburgh tartan watch collection includes watches in silver, rose gold, and black case finishes, Apple Watch straps, and watch cases, all made using the official university tartan and hand-assembled in our Scottish workshop. Every detail has been considered.

The collection is built for people at specific moments. A graduate who's just finished a degree and deserves something to mark it. A parent looking for a gift that says more than a card could. An alumnus who studied in Edinburgh twenty years ago and still feels that pull to the city. An international student who built years of their life there and wants something to bring home.

These aren't generic university gifts. We've worked with the university's own tartan, sourced authentic Scottish-woven fabric, and brought the same care to this collection that we bring to everything we make. If you want to understand more about how we work, our Our Story page explains the workshop, the process, and what drives us.

A Gift That Actually Means Something

Choosing a graduation gift is harder than it looks. Most options feel either too forgettable or too generic. What most people actually want is something that connects to the experience itself.

That's where this collection earns its place. A tartan watch carries the university's identity in a form that's genuinely wearable and useful, not something that gets put on a shelf and forgotten. The University of Edinburgh Gift Shop carries the university's official merchandise, and we're proud that our pieces sit alongside that tradition as an officially licensed product.

If you're already familiar with our work on custom tartan watches for the University of Stirling, you'll have a sense of how seriously we take these partnerships. University collections aren't merchandise to us. They're collaborations with institutions that have real histories and real communities behind them.

Our tartan Apple Watch straps have been particularly popular as graduation gifts for people who wear Apple Watches daily. There's something satisfying about knowing the strap on your wrist carries your university's tartan, made by hand in Scotland.

Scottish Craftsmanship, Made for a Scottish Institution

Everything in this collection is made in our Scottish workshop. The tartan is woven in Scotland. The assembly, the finishing, the care that goes into every piece - all of it happens here.

That matters to us. If we're creating a piece that carries the identity of one of Scotland's oldest institutions, it should be made in Scotland. It shouldn't be outsourced or produced at volume elsewhere and branded up at the end. We're a Scottish workshop making Scottish goods for a Scottish university.

And the university's own history connects to that idea of genuine craftsmanship. Edinburgh built its reputation over centuries by producing people who did things properly, who thought carefully, who prioritised substance over shortcut. We'd like to think we approach our work in the same spirit.

Shop the University of Edinburgh Tartan Collection

The University of Edinburgh Tartan Collection is available now. Whether you're shopping for a graduating student, looking for an alumni keepsake, or searching for a gift that means something to someone who studied in Edinburgh, you'll find what you need in our collection.

Worldwide shipping is available, with free UK delivery and tracked international shipping.

Browse the full University of Edinburgh collection at MacKinnon Watches

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the University of Edinburgh tartan officially registered?

Yes. The University of Edinburgh commissioned its own tartan in 2007, and it's officially recorded in the Scottish Register of Tartans, the national register maintained by the National Records of Scotland. Our collection uses this official tartan under licence from the university.

Where are MacKinnon's University of Edinburgh watches made?

Every piece in the collection is hand-assembled in our Scottish workshop. The tartan itself is woven in Scotland, so the entire product from fabric to finished watch is genuinely Scottish-made.

What's included in the University of Edinburgh collection?

The collection includes tartan watches in three case finishes (silver, rose gold, and black), Apple Watch straps, and watch cases, all made using the official University of Edinburgh tartan. You can see the full range at our University of Edinburgh collection page.

Are these watches a good graduation gift for University of Edinburgh students?

In most cases, yes. The collection has been designed with graduation and alumni in mind. A tartan watch using the university's own registered pattern is a meaningful, wearable keepsake that connects to the experience of studying at Edinburgh, rather than a generic gift that gets forgotten quickly.

When was the University of Edinburgh founded?

The University of Edinburgh was granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1582 and officially opened in 1583, making it one of Scotland's four ancient universities and the sixth-oldest university in continuous operation in the English-speaking world.

Can I buy these watches if I'm outside the UK?

Yes. MacKinnon Watches ships worldwide. UK orders come with free tracked delivery. International shipping rates and timescales vary by destination, and full details are available on the website.

Do you make custom tartan watches for other universities?

We do work with other universities and institutions on official tartan partnerships. Our collaboration with the University of Stirling is one example of how those partnerships work. If you're interested in exploring something similar, you're welcome to get in touch to discuss it.