May 21, 2004/ FW/ --- Actors Peter Fonda, Mariel Hemingway, famed fashion photographers, Peter Beard and Ralph Gibson, along with New York City society like Count Rofredo Gaetani (with Svetlana on his arm) gathered in homage of Helmut Newton, whose full frontal nude photo has been immortalized on, of all things, a Swatch.

California Finger Nails Hollywood, like most Newton photos, features a nude woman with two-inch long fingernails, unflinchingly showing breasts, nether regions, etc.

Multi-millionaire philanthropist Henry Buhl hosted the auction of number one of only 100 of these Swatch watches. The winning bid of over $10,000 will benefit Soho Partnership, an organization started by Mr. Buhl, whose primary goal is providing job opportunities for the homeless.

This journey from photo to timepiece started on December 3, 2001, when Mr. Buhl bid $40,000 to win the right to design 100 of his own Swatch watches, an honor never before offered to anyone not already an established artist, and likely to never be offered again.

Mr. Buhl and the Swatch design team spent the next two and a half years trying to find something that spoke to both the provocative and artistic nature of Swatch, Mr. Buhl's own love of photography and, most especially, photography of the hands.

A collector and aficionado of Helmut Newton's work, Mr. Buhl offered him the chance to have one of his photographs, California Finger Nails Hollywood, 1981, imprinted as art for the wrist.

With this, Helmut Newton joins the ranks of other artists who have worked with Swatch over the years: Kiki Picasso, Keith Haring, Nam Jun Paik, Annie Leibovitz, Pedro Almodovar, among many, many others. And another unique Swatch was born.

The auction was broadcast online at www.swatch.com/helmutnewton starting May 7th, allowing the whole world the chance to share one of the last artistic efforts of Helmut Newton, whose photographic brilliance has been seen on the pages of magazines like Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar and more.