Lifestyle

The History of Watchmaking You Never Knew

Published

6 years ago

March 12, 2020

History, as the old adage goes, is written by the winners. Such is the case with the tourbillon watch.

All throughout the watch world, John Breguet is revered as the “father of the tourbillon movement”. Receiving the first patent for his tourbillon design in 1801, Breguet was already a well-respected horologist among the aristocracy. Although a bit of a showoff, Breguet himself revealed the true inventor of this gravity-defying movement: John Arnold. While it may sound like the beginning of a story of corporate espionage and underhanded deals, much like the history Silicon Valley presents, nothing is further from the truth.

The esteemed pair were actually very good friends. Introduced by one of Breguet’s first clients, the Duke of Orleans. Throughout the years, they traded craft secrets, offered help to one another with new designs, even sending their sons to apprentice under the other.

Pocket watches were the mobile timekeepers of that era. Due to the relatively stationary position of the pocket watch, watchmakers struggled with how to answer the uneven wear pocket watches that affected the accuracy of their devices. A problem presented by a force that no artisan at the time could escape, gravity.

It was John Arnold that discovered the solution: to create a device that would release the escapement, allowing an additional rotation that would correct the drag of gravity on the delicate moving parts. This design gave birth to the first ever tourbillon movement.

The death of John Arnold, in 1799, was a terrible loss to Breguet. As a final labor of love to honor his colleague and friend, Breguet modified one of Arnold’s earlier creations with the first real tourbillon built. The modification was completed and presented to Arnold’s son in 1808 with the heartfelt inscription, “Breguet’s first tourbillon regulator, united with one of Arnold’s earliest movements; a tribute by Breguet to the revered memory of Arnold and presented to his son in the year 1808.”

At Aventi, we don’t just make watches, we’re watch enthusiasts. Much like our predecessors, we constantly challenge ourselves to design and create something truly unique that overcomes a weakness in the industry.

We’ve taken on the big names and challenged the idea that tourbillon watches are meant for only the social elite. We’ve created a new design and system that answers the inefficiencies that plague horology today, reducing the production costs to mere fractions of what is commonly accepted, allowing us the opportunity to offer the first ever tourbillon for under a $1000.

Curious about what other innovations Aventi has up their sleeves? Go to www.aventiwatch.com to learn more about our revolutionary crowdfunding campaign that is challenging everything we know about watchmaking.

Lifestyle

Kat Marie Alvarez: Where Innovation Meets Regulation

Published

6 hours ago

January 23, 2026

Michelle Langton

Regulation is often thought of as a limitation, yet in healthcare, it also serves as a foundation for building models that endure. For Kat Marie Alvarez, Founder and CEO of KATALYST & CO, the framework of rules established by agencies like CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid) and the OIG ( office of the Inspector General) create opportunities to design systems that are compliant, ethical, and transformative. Her approach demonstrates that regulation can be a platform for innovation when it is interpreted with both technical rigor and vision.

Kat’s 25-year career reflects this philosophy. A former nurse who advanced into executive leadership and strategy, she has led $2.7B+ P&L operations, advised on over $5B in healthcare transactions, and guided value based organizations including Innovacare, Cano Health, WellMed, Centene, and Humana through periods of exponential scaling. Her perspective combines clinical, financial, and regulatory experience, giving her a unique ability to design structures that support integrity and accountability while driving measurable outcomes.

Turning Statutes into Strategy

For Kat, regulation serves as a framework for building smarter and more ethical models. She interprets CMS guidance and OIG rules as levers for innovation, using them to advance integrity and accountability. With the CMS V28 risk adjustment model, Alvarez refined coding practices, strengthened clinical documentation, and structured risk frameworks that reward accuracy and elevate standards of care. In addressing RADV audits, she crafted strategies that protect stakeholders while keeping patient outcomes at the forefront. She aligns compliance, cost, and care in equal measure. Her current work as a contributor to the CMS IDea Challenge, an initiative focused on strengthening the foundation of trust in our system, further echoes her commitment to advancing regulations in ways that unlock innovation while safeguarding the integrity of care.

Her interpretive approach brings discipline and vision to every challenge. She engages stakeholders to redesign workflows that meet regulatory requirements and enhance the patient experience. Each policy becomes a mechanism to strengthen accountability and operational precision, shaping a system that is both compliant and humane.

Innovation Built Within Boundaries

At KATALYST & CO, this interpretive approach is carried into every project. Kat has integrated predictive analytics and AI-driven tools into care models, with safeguards that ensure interventions remain clinician-led and ethically sound. For example, AI flags in chronic disease management are connected to human-led actions that improve patient care. The result is a model that benefits from technology while preserving accountability and clinical integrity.

Staffing and infrastructure provide another example of her philosophy in action. By leveraging offshore BPO operations in Latin America, Asia, and Eastern Europe, KATALYST & CO extends capacity for health plans and providers. These expansions are carefully designed to meet data security, licensure, and jurisdictional requirements, ensuring that global reach is paired with local compliance. It is a system that balances scale with responsibility.

The Art of Influence Through Alignment

Kat often describes her role as translating complexity into clarity. Whether she is working with payers, providers, or investors, she builds consensus by grounding ambitious strategies in the language of statute. Value-based care models, utilization management programs, and clinical frameworks are designed to prove compliant ROI for stakeholders while maintaining patient focus.

Her approach begins with people. In integrations, partnerships, and platform builds, she respects legacy strengths, listens to frontline voices, and creates systems that are not only efficient but also trusted. This ensures that compliance does not feel like restriction, but like a structure that supports innovation and adoption.

Redefining the Future of Compliance and Care

KATALYST & CO is scaling with $10M in initial funding, expanded international operations, and a growing advisory portfolio. Under Kat’s leadership, the firm is showing how regulation can be a foundation for both innovation and durability. She demonstrates that lasting progress in healthcare is achieved by leaders who know how to design systems that are bold, ethical, and deeply human.

By approaching regulation as a guide rather than a limitation, Kat Alvarez is building models that prove compliance and innovation can move forward together. Her formula ensures that the future of healthcare is shaped not only by ambition, but also by trust and responsibility.