One To Watch: Shona Taine Is The Only Female Candidate Member Of The AHCI And Is Exhibiting In New York On April 28
Origin Story
As the watchmaking industry strives for greater female representation, Shona Taine emerges as a pioneering female presence within the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI) and a formidable horological talent demonstrating evolved technical innovations and aesthetic sensibilities. Exhibiting at the upcoming Indies.NYC event on April 28th at Hudson Yards alongside established independents like Byrne Watch and Andersen Geneve, Taine represents a new generation of horological artisans.
Shona Taine. Photo courtesy of Maxime Dubois.
Born in La-Chaux-de-Gilley, France, Taine comes from a family with no watchmaking connections. Her educational journey impressively combines technical prowess with intellectual breadth, graduating from Lycée Edgard Faure’s watchmaking program in 2019 while simultaneously completing online degrees in modern literature and philosophy. Her graduation project, seen below, demonstrated remarkable ambition: restoring a vintage minute repeater based on a Le Phare caliber.
Taine’s talent earned early recognition through multiple prestigious awards, including the Meilleurs Apprentis de France, second place at the Concours National des Métiers d’Art (2017), and first place at the Concours de Réglage Étudiant (2018). After just six months of post-graduate work with an independent watchmaker, she founded Khemea at age 22—a name derived from the Greek word for “the art of fusing metals,” the origin of alchemy.
Taine’s graduation project. Photo courtesy of Shona Taine.
Regarding her AHCI candidacy, which she achieved at just 25, Taine explains: “This recognition from my peers is a very powerful motivation because the world of independence is pretty tough. And especially when you’re alone, young, and a woman.” She joins the ranks of legends like F.P. Journe, Sylvain Pinaud, Philippe Dufour, and Kari Voutilainen, and is the first woman to ever be inducted.
Photo courtesy of Maxime Dubois.
Her Approach
Shona Taine’s work is fresh but with a measured touch, and her first watch is the 40mm Arkhea, a strong symmetrical design named after the Greek word for Origin, featuring her own K.10 movement. This features a tourbillon by Olivier Mory, an inventive guilloche-framed two-handed time display, date disc, and moon phases. The Arkhea prototype has formed the base of the Khemea Édition Souscription series in Grade 5 titanium; the images in this story are of the 316L steel prototype. Sweeping sides protect a semi-flush crown, and the case is muscular with strong, curved lugs, a fitted strap, and a slim 10mm case height (13.89mm with the domed sapphire). A strong guilloche pattern marks the dial base (finer grained for the Souscription), with a grand feu enamel dial at 12 for the hours and minutes.
Photo courtesy of @hugues.timepieces.
The broad-shouldered case has a polished, tapering bezel and brushed sides with a sporty, ergonomic vibe, juxtaposing the intricate dial. This friendly jostling of tough versus dressy brings out the best of both, and one of my favourite details is the date display. The prototype in the shots has an Aventurine semi-circle that echoes the shimmering moon phase opposite, rendered in blue MOP for the Souscription Ti model. Figure-of-eight markers show the month in 5-day increments, with a dot marking one of 31 small cut-outs. Shona Taine’s design shows a great sense of proportionality, with an alluring prima ballerina at six o’clock, a tourbillon affixed with an arrow-tipped V-bridge.
The in-house K.10 calibre has a modern vibe and involves a high degree of traditional machining and hand-finishing, all done by Shona herself. The dark grainage of the bridges and touches like the twin-pawl ratchet wheel fascinate and show a drive for uniqueness, and not much beats the prowess of a single barrel 100-hour power reserve. This is displayed on the movement side and is based on a George Daniels cone differential. The barrel makes 17 turns during winding, with the differential displaying the reserve in a readable 30° arc.
Photo courtesy of Maxime Dubois.
What’s Next
Shona told me more about her progress on the first twelve watches: “I’m able to make a maximum of six in a year, with myself designing, machining, decorating, and assembling all watches. I delivered the first one in June, and the others will follow quickly as I work on several parts simultaneously, for example, machining several wheels in a row and then decorating them one by one. Delivery of the Souscription series will finish at the end of 2026.”
Looking ahead to 2025, Taine remains philosophical about her journey: “I’m looking forward to what’s to come, and the next design is already well advanced. There have been challenges and some very intense moments, but I’ve learnt so much from these ‘adventures’ that I see them as real chances and opportunities.” Her perspective on independence reveals a deep appreciation for her craft: “Being independent is a way of practising watchmaking the way I want to, which for me is an art form in the same way as sculpture, painting and music.”
Photo courtesy of Maxime Dubois.
From the details of the multi-layered dial of Shona Taine’s first design to the hand-wound 100-hour in-house movement, her work has a sense of balance. Unlike many debut designs, Shona’s work has poise and studied, obsessive detailing that belies her young age of 27. The fact that she is both under 30 and female is relevant for two reasons. This profession needs a recruitment drive to shore up its ageing workforce, and with a 90% cadre of male watchmakers, here’s hoping the AHCI will use all its industry power to inspire women to don the watchmaker’s coat and loupe. But gender has nothing to do with the fact that this independent watchmaker is one to watch, and for me, one of the strongest debuts of the last five years.
For more information, you can follow Shona and Khemea on Instagram here. If you are in NYC, be sure to stop by the upcoming Indies.NYC event on April 28th at Hudson Yards.
Hodinkee