Originating from the small rustic village of La Chaux-de-Gilley, just a brief ride from Morteau, Shona Taine's path in watchmaking was not an expected one. Unlike the majority of her peers, she did not descend from a long line of horologists entrenched in the trade - her mother owned a shop, while her father pursued artistic and literary endeavors. It wasn't until a voyage to Prague at the tender age of ten that Taine's fervor for timepieces truly ignited. While visiting the Old Town with her parents, she encountered the famous astronomical clock attached to the Old Town Hall. Its many automata, planetary complications, colors and ingenious design stroke a few cords in her heart.
An avid reader, Taine had always dreamed of studying literature at university. However, she also recognized the immense value in using her hands and actively creating. Despite any societal biases against vocational training in France, she courageously pursued her love for watchmaking, enrolling in Lycée Edgard Faure to obtain her degree. Starting with the fundamentals of quartz watches, she quickly moved on to mastering mechanical timepieces. In 2015, she proudly received the prestigious title of Meilleurs Apprentis de France, a recognition given to exceptional students under the age of twenty-one. Continuing to refine her craft, she eventually earned her Diplôme de Métier d’Art (DMA) after four more years of dedicated study. Her skills were further validated when she placed first in a challenging precision regulation competition hosted by the lycée and Besançon Observatory that same year.
After graduating from Morteau in 2019, Taine secured a position with an independent watchmaker in Les Brenets, a small Swiss village near the border. She honed her craft for six months, servicing and fixing customers' timepieces. But the young Taine yearned for more and decided to take a leap of faith by leaving her job and starting her own company, Khemea. At just 22 years old, she was now the master of her fate and captain of her own business venture.
She collaborated with renowned watchmaker Olivier Mory, immersing herself in his workshop in Chaux du Fond to learn and assist in the development of in-house movements. After two years of hard work, she successfully created her own chiming watch and named it Arkhea, from the Ancient Greek for “origin”. Not content with simply using existing components, Taine rebuilt the entire movement, incorporating a tourbillon by Olivier Mory as the foundation. She then added personal touches such as moon phases, a date display, and a power reserve indicator on the back, solidifying her mark on the creation
A delicate dance between the tourbillon, hour and minute hands, and date display unfolds on the shimmering aventurine dial. Each day of the month is discreetly marked by a small white dot through 31 openings made in the aventurine dial, while the gentle phases of the moon are elegantly depicted against the same backdrop. The intricately engraved flower motif, symbolizing Shona Taine's brand Khemea, sits between the tourbillon and hour/minute hands, adding an air of mystique to the design.
The Arkhea watch boasts a 40mm diameter and can be worn by both men and women with its elegant and refined style. Shona Taine plans to create a limited edition of twelve watches, each one potentially featuring more masculine or feminine elements. She believes that there is still room for exploration in creating complicated timepieces for women.