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Swatch Group the largest manufacturer of wrist watches in the world has reported an estimated 42% gain in its profits for the year 2010. Demand across the far east and especially in China for various brands of watches made by the Swatch Group such as Omega, Breguet and Swatch contributed towards the record profits. This comes after Swatch Group had previously released record sales figures of 6.44 billion Swiss francs in January and said that growth in Asia lead the way. A rise in the value of the Swiss franc versus the US Dollar and the Euro have been squeezing profit margins on exports in the Swiss watch*** industry. The Swiss franc rose 11% against the US Dollar and 19% against the Euro during 2010 and recently many Swiss watch manufacturers announced plans to increase their prices to counter the strength of the Swiss franc.

TweetEmailI came across an interesting site recently called timeanddate.com whichhas answers to pretty much any and all time/date related questions. Among theirmany articles and resources, I found an extremely thorough explanationof Swatch Internet Time, including a tool for converting Internet Time to "standard"time in about 130 different time zones.I wrote about Internet Time in my reviewof the Swatch Paparazzi (watch pictured at right). Internet Time is to timewhat the metric system is to measurement. It was invented by Swatch, and as faras I know, isn't much more than a marketing gimmick at this point, although Ipersonally think it's a pretty interesting concept. Internet Time does away withtime zones, and with the basically arbitrary units of 60 and 24. The day is dividedinto 1000 "beats" with each beat equaling 1 minute and 26.4 seconds. Since thereare no time zones in Internet Time, the time is the same all over the world withthe reference point being Biel, Switzerland, the location of Swatch Group's headquarters.This "new meridian" is referred to as BMT, or Biel Mean Time. Internet Time isexpressed by the number of beats proceeded by an "at" (@) symbol. For instance,2:27 PM in San Francisco is expressed as @997.I really like the concept of Internet Time for two primary reasons:It has the same kind of intuitive logic as the metric system.You don't have to worry about time zones. I often work with people all overthe world, and doing the conversions can be a pain.Of course, time zones do serve a very valuable purpose. They allow us to relatemore easily to other parts of the world. For instance, if I schedule a meetingat @997, and I'm expecting people from all over the world to join, I have no wayof knowing if @997 is in the middle of the night, early in the morning, or rightsmack in the middle of the day for the other attendees. Time zones, on the otherhand, allow me to get a relative sense of time so I can schedule meetingsat times that are convenient for all parties.Check out the articleon timeanddate.com for a much more thorough analysis ofInternet Time.