Black Watch? Yay or Nay

[Nathan]

I am no expert or even close but I think this is the Campbell (family) tartan which the Black Watch was originally based on.

Or rather, in my opinion the Campbell family tartan was based on the Black Watch since they were so instrumental in establishing the original British Highland Regiments. The use of the standard government set predates the concept of Clan tartans by quite some time.

[usonian]

Yes, that definitely appears to be Black Watch, ancient colors. AKA Campbell (as already mentioned) and also Hunting Grant, Hunting Munro, and Sutherland District. (See Matt's article A Tartan by Any Other Name for more information about shared tartans!) A number of vendors and/or mills list Black Watch and Campbell separately, using modern colors for the former and ancient colors for the latter... but it's the same tartan.

[Grizzled Ian]

I wonder if the notion that it is an old kilt came about through a combination of some or all of these ingredients:
* unfamiliarity with our terminology;
* imprecise thinking; and
* a 'word of mouth/Chinese whispers' process.
"I have an ancient Black Watch kilt" is very easy to misinterpret and thereafter misrepresent.

[HarveyH]

"I have an ancient Black Watch kilt" is very easy to misinterpret and thereafter misrepresent.

Oh Dear, we are back to taxonomy ... I wish firms would avoid the ambiguity and by not putting the colours first except where it is part of the tartan name: Black Watch in Ancient Colours.