There might be no more prevalent watchmaking stereotype than that of the master craftsman at his workbench. Clad in a white coat, a magnifying loupe affixed on a wire around his ears, our natural image is of a man in late middle age.
The stereotype persists for a reason: the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI), the world’s most prestigious assembly of skilled independent watchmakers, has 37 members, all male, with an average age of 59. At least, it did until recently. On April 6, its members voted to admit three nominee watchmakers to its ranks: Anton Suhanov, Guo Ming and Shona Taine. Taine, at 27, is both the youngest person ever to be offered membership and the first woman.
Her debut watch, the Khemea, was not even fully finished when she attracted the attention of the academy. Two years ago, a visit from Philippe Dufour, Kari Voutilainen and Sylvain Pinaud — some of the most revered names in watchmaking — was enough to convince them that she merited a place on their list of candidates, watchmakers who can progress from there to full membership.
“I was so shy because it was the prototype and I knew where all the mistakes were,” says Taine. “But they said it was great — it was absolutely incredible.”
“When I first discovered Shona’s work three years ago, I was immediately captivated by her innovative approach and her evident passion for watchmaking,” says David Candaux, a fellow member of the AHCI and one of two watchmakers who proposed Taine for full membership. “What impresses me most about Shona’s creations is her ability to merge tradition and innovation. Her Khemea watch perfectly exemplifies her attention to detail and her constant desire to push the boundaries of watch design.”
Inspired by a childhood visit to Prague, where she became fascinated by the city’s famous astronomical clock, Taine, who grew up in the small French town of Pontarlier near the Swiss border, enrolled in the nearby watchmaking school in Morteau aged 15, beginning a six-year course comprising three separate diplomas.
“In the beginning there were 45 of us and at the end there were 15,” she says. “I had wanted to study philosophy and literature, but it wasn’t work with my hands, and I wanted to have a true profession. So I always thought I’d do my other studies afterwards.”
Instead Taine found herself working in a service workshop, repairing Ebel chronograph watches.
“We did the same thing every day — it was just boring,” she says. “I wanted to learn and to make many things. The only way to do that was to create my own watch. So I left, and I created my company the day before my 22nd birthday.”
Working day and night, she took any available watchmaking work to make ends meet while looking for positions with the kind of craftspeople whom she wanted to emulate. “I quickly realised that despite six years of study, I still lacked a lot of knowledge,” Taine says. “So, I sought out several watchmakers to learn from them, ask for techniques and improve myself.”
Working in the atelier of Olivier Mory, one of the watchmakers Taine approached and a well-known supplier of tourbillon movements to mainstream brands, she created her debut watch, the Khemea. It features a modified tourbillon, a moonphase display, a calendar and a 100-hour power reserve, and was what so impressed the grandees of the AHCI — who had been alerted to her by a fellow graduate of her watchmaking school.
Aesthetically, the Khemea combines elements of traditional watch design with more futuristic, biomorphic shapes. Taine says she finds inspiration in nature, using floral and fluid shapes for the logo and various components of the movement. It has found an admiring audience, with several pieces sold before Taine had even finished making them. She has also attracted interest from would-be investors, but says she has rejected all proposals to supercharge the business, preferring to grow at her own pace.
“I self-financed through subcontracting work, and I was lucky to have the trust of my parents, my partner and a few sincere friends,” she says. “Each of them gave me their time, advice, support, and sometimes even lent me their savings.”
Her independence allows Taine to balance the demands of the business with other commitments; just six years after graduating she now teaches at the same watchmaking school, and is in high demand from educational foundations and establishments across the industry. Her rising profile is also inspiring younger generations to follow in her footsteps.
“I receive a lot of messages from girls studying watchmaking, saying it’s incredible what you’re doing, thank you, you’re the only example we have,” she says.
Taine, who says she understands the interest in her story but doesn’t want to be defined by her gender, says that “there are plenty of women in the watch industry, but they are rarely entrepreneurial or at the head of a company”. There are signs that things are changing, however. “When I was a student, there were only two girls in the class,” she says. “Now it’s fifty-fifty.”
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