February 2002 Timepieces/News Swatch 'Wristory' Auction Raises Money for Charity Benefits AIDS victims Swatch raised more than $800,000 for charity Dec. 3 in an auction of rare and unique Swatch watches at Sotheby’s. The money – $400,000 from the auction and a matching grant from Swatch – went primarily to God’s Love We Deliver, which delivers food to people homebound with AIDS. About 10% went to the “Windows of Hope Family Relief Fund,” which supports loved ones of people who died in the World Trade Center restaurants in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. More than 500 celebrities and collectors attended the auction, which included a set of watches made for the 1996 Olympics (sold for $21,000), a Swatch “Puff” collection ($105,000, the single highest bid) and a chance to design a limited-production Swatch ($40,000). Other notable sets included the Keith Haring collection from the 1980s and specials designed by filmmakers Robert Altman, Akira Kurosawa and Pedro Almodovar in the early 1990s. • Swatch, Weehawken, NJ; (201) 271-4724, www.swatch.com. – by Michael Thompson