Our Story & Heritage
MacKinnon Watches is a voice for the Highlands.
We have made our main objective to promote Scottish heritage, while bringing to the world a stylish and timeless brand enriched in hundreds of years of history. The iconic landscape of the country has also drawn much inspiration for our designs and quite rightly so. Between the dramatic glens, lochs and unrivalled castles, this wee country is steeped in beauty.
Our most renowned product is our bespoke tartan watch. Each tartan watch has a hand-stitched strap, using fabric woven in local Scottish mills. By using pure tartan material from Scottish mills, we ensure authenticity. This unique quality material comes from those who have worked on manufacturing tartan within Scotland for hundreds of years and by supporting them, the producers and their families will be supported for years to come.
We're not just another watch brand, we're a brand with a personality who truly cares about Scotland and the community we are building.
Although you will find many MacKinnon’s across Scotland, our family lives in the Highlands at the foot of Ben Nevis which we have paid homage to in our logo.
We have been shortlisted for two awards: Family Business of the Year and Manufacturing Start up of the Year. MacKinnon Watches has also been featured in multiple magazines such as the Herald and Contrast Magazine.
Meet the founders
Hi! We are Matt & Belinda, husband and wife team.
We are the co-founders of MacKinnon Watches.
We met whilst studying at university in Aberdeen and have been inseparable since.
Back in 2020 we were living and working in London, but our hearts were still firmly back in Scotland.
Once the pandemic hit, the homesickness plus lots of free time made us start brainstorming about what the future would hold for us. Knowing that big city life was not for us, we took the steps to make a change and start working on our goals. So we took a leap of faith and quit our corporates jobs. We packed up our London life and headed back home to the Highlands, ready to start our new chapter.
The journey has not been easy. We took a huge risk, we survived on one income and savings to start this business. We moved in with Matt’s parents for a while until we could afford to pay rent for our own place but we persevered, worked hard and never gave up.
Our business came to life in our wee cottage in the Highlands and has since been growing. We are a family of three: Matt, Belinda & Helga (our dog). We love travelling Scotland together and experiencing all the breathtaking scenery, where we draw inspiration from.
Matt is the master watchmaker. Commonly seen dwelling in the watch workshop in the early hours of the morning before the sun rises. He makes and assembles all watches.
Belinda is the mastermind behind running the business: she does all of the social media, networking, website updates, blog writing and all tasks focused on growing the business.
