`GLOBES' VOTERS ASKED TO RETURN STONE'S WATCH GIFTS.

Byline: Marla Matzer Rose Staff Writer

It seemed life was imitating art for Sharon Stone on Tuesday, when it was reported that the actress had sent Coach watches valued at $300 and up to the 82 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

On Monday the group, which gives out the yearly Golden Globe awards, announced a nomination for Stone for her role in ``The Muse,'' a comedy directed by Albert Brooks. In the movie - released this summer to mixed reviews - Stone plays a woman who demands expensive gifts in exchange for inspiring Hollywood's creative elite. Directors James Cameron, Martin Scorcese and Rob Reiner play themselves in the Albert Brooks-directed film, lavishing Stone's character with gifts from high-priced retailers such as Tiffany.

Helmut Voss, president of the HFPA (made up of journalists covering entertainment for foreign publications) asked that HFPA members return the watches as soon as he heard about the lavish gift. The organization has made an effort over the last several years to change its image as a hard-partying, freebie-accepting group; members were once notorious for accepting expensive baubles and lavish entertainment from studios and stars hoping to score a Globe win.

Three years ago, the association implemented a strict new set of rules barring members from accepting any gifts valued at over $50. A member of the HFPA, who wished to remain anonymous, insisted that though the gift may have been a misjudgment on Stone's part, it was not a bribe. ``Sharon Stone has been a close friend of ours . . . she's done a number of things with us, been very generous with her time. She's very bright and supports important causes, like AIDS research,'' said the association member.