The "Why Mom Deserves a Diamond" contest is an American essay contest founded by Michael "Diamond Mike" Watson in Costa Mesa, California in 1993. The contest was established in honor of Watson's adoptive mother and the birth mother he had never known. In a limited number of words, children are asked to write essays explaining why their mother deserves a diamond.

Hundreds of thousands of American children have participated, and dozens of children have won the grand prize of a diamond to give to their mothers (and other precious gems).[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] The first winner was sophomore Margaret Ketchersid, from Edison High School in Huntington Beach, California. On Mother's Day 1993, she was awarded the grand prize of a quarter-carat diamond to give to her mother, Ruth.

Founder Diamond Mike Watson presents the unmounted diamond to the first diamond winner, Margaret Ketchersid, to give to her mother, Ruth. (Mother’s Day, 1991.)

Founder

Martha Velia Watson
March 15, 1920 – September 14, 2006

Michael "Diamond Mike" Watson was born and adopted in Indianapolis in 1958. He spent his early life in New Albany, where his adopted parents raised him. The foundation of the contest began while Watson was searching for his own birth mother when he was 17.[8]

About the same time he started his quest, Watson entered the jewelry industry as an errand boy for a store in New Albany. He joined a retail chain and worked in jewelry stores in Indiana, Kentucky and Kansas City, then moved to California in 1989.[9] In 1991, Watson opened Gallery of Diamonds Jewelers in Costa Mesa, California.[10]

Watson obtained a copy of his hospital bill from Community Hospital, which showed his mother's name (Betty Price) and age. Armed with this information, he embarked on a search that lasted nearly 20 years. Watson found the judge who had presided over the adoption only to learn that the records were sealed. The judge did, however, give Watson the report by the Department of Public Welfare, which contained information about his birth mother.[11] The report listed names and a wedding date, and he contacted every county in Indiana to locate a wedding license. In mid-1994 he heard from the courthouse in Coatesville that the information on the license matched. He found that his birth mother's maiden name was Stewart, and also discovered her parents' address and telephone number.[12] When calling his biological grandmother, she said that no one knew he was alive because his birth mother told the family he was stillborn. He learned that his mother had died in 1981.[13]

Watson then learned he had an infant sister that vanished before he was born. Thus began a new journey to find his missing sibling. With the help of five genealogical researchers in which Watson named the Fabulous Five,[14] Watson finally found his missing sister alive and well in 2017.[15] That same year, with the miracle of DNA matching, Watson discovered his paternal Syrian Jewish roots and that he came from a long ancestry of distinguished rabbis from Aleppo, Syria. His great great grandfather was Hakham Mordechai Abadi.[16][17][18]

From 1993 to 2012, Watson published the winning entries in an annual book to raise money for the local county's library.[19] Over the years, thousands of children submit their essays to the company's headquarters in Santa Ana, California, and come to Gallery of Diamonds Jewelers every year.[20]

Watson earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Indiana University Southeast and is a gemologist from the Gemological Institute of America. He is the author of Moon Over Mountains- The Search for Mom, The Legend of Why Mom Deserves a Diamond, Tales of Imagination- Everything is Real, In Search of Mom- Journey of an Adoptee, and Adopted Like Me- Chosen to Search for a Birthmother.[21]

Intellectual property

The trademark Why Mom Deserves a Diamond was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark office on July 27, 2001, registration number 2,620,840. The trademark, The Legendary Contest, received registration on April 17, 2007, as "A writing contest in which kids can honor their mothers and have the chance to win a diamond or gemstone." Reg #3229618.

Franchise

In 2009, the Why Mom Deserves a Diamond contest became incorporated, and in 2010 it became a franchise with the mission of "giving every child the opportunity to express their words of appreciation to the mothers."

Anthologies

From 1993 to 2012, Gallery of Diamonds Jewelers, the founding sponsor of the contest, published an annual anthology of the winners. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of these books were donated to the Orange County Library system in Orange County, California. Following are the book titles and the years they were published.

  • 2012. Why Mom Deserves a Diamond - A Gift of Love
  • 2011. Why Mom Deserves a Diamond - Legacy Edition
  • 2010. Why Mom Deserves a Diamond - Discovered With Great Bliss
  • 2009. Why Mom Deserves a Diamond - The Encouraging Branch
  • 2008. Why Mom Deserves a Diamond - The Crystal Heart
  • 2007. Why Mom Deserves a Diamond - Sparkling Treasures
  • 2006. Why Mom Deserves a Diamond - Beyond the Goddess Venus
  • 2005. Why Mom Deserves a Diamond - Words of Love
  • 2004. Why Mom Deserves a Diamond - Twelve Years of Love
  • 2003. Why Mom Deserves a Diamond - The Legendary Contest
  • 2002. Why Mom Deserves a Diamond - 10th Anniversary of the Greatest Contest on Earth
  • 2001. Why Mom Deserves a Diamond - The Greatest Contest on Earth
  • 2000. Why Mom Deserves a Diamond - A Millennium Mother's Day Tribute
  • 1999. Why Mom Deserves a Diamond - Seventh Anniversary Edition
  • 1998. Why Mom Deserves a Diamond - 1,500 Essay Winners for 1998
  • 1997. Why Mom Deserves a Diamond - 1,002 Essay Winners for 1997
  • 1996. Why Mom Deserves a Diamond - 732 Essay Winners for 1996
  • 1995. Why Mom Deserves a Diamond - 391 Essay Winners for 1995
  • 1994. Why Mom Deserves a Diamond - 1994 Essay Winners
  • 1993. Why Mom Deserves a Diamond - 1993 Essay Winners

References

  1. ↑ Heeger, Jack "Mother's Day Contest Builds Business And Goodwill", JCK online, 4 January 1996, http://www.jckonline.com/article/291161-Mother_s_Day_Contest_Builds_Business_And_Goodwill.php Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Why Mom Deserves a Diamond Contest (TM) Gallery of Diamonds; Costa Mesa, CA", Instore Magazine online, 2 July 2008, http://www.instoremag.com/instore/best-stores/benchmarks/997-best-mothers-day-promotions Archived 2010-01-05 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ "Kids Say the Darndest Things", Professional Jeweler Magazine online, April 2002, http://www.professionaljeweler.com/archives/articles/2002/apr02/0402i2.html Archived 2010-11-28 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ "Seventh Grader Wins 'Why Mom Deserves a Diamond' Contest", JCK online, 8 January 2004, http://www.jckonline.com/article/290987-Seventh_Grader_Wins_Why_Mom_Deserves_a_Diamond_Contest.php
  5. ↑ Sheppard, Harrison: "La Palma", Los Angeles Times online, 7 May 1999, http://articles.latimes.com/1999/may/07/local/me-34899 Archived 2012-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ Glowish, Amanda: "Words worth a diamond", The Orange County Register, 19 March 2007, http://www.ocregister.com/articles/contest-60615-glidden-mother.html Archived 2012-10-15 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Wilson, Beth: "Girl pens poem wins quarter-carat diamond for mother", Amarillo Globe News, 3 May 2000, http://www.amarillo.com/stories/050300/fri_050300-10.shtml Archived 2012-03-14 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ "For the Love of Mom". Daily Pilot. 30 April 1992.
  9. ↑ "Watson Strikes Gold with Diamond Shop". Tribune. 6 August 1992.
  10. ↑ "Mother's Day Contest Builds Business and Goodwill". Jewellers Circular Keystone. April 1996.
  11. ↑ "One Man's Search". New Albany Tribune. 1995.
  12. ↑ "The Search is Finally Over". Newport Beach/Costa Mesa Daily Pilot. 16 September 1994.
  13. ↑ "Surprising Twists in Two Searches for Family Roots". Los Angeles Times. 28 January 1998.
  14. ↑ Pemberton, Michelle. "A 'vanished' sister, adopted brother and four siblings finally together". The Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on 2019-10-07. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  15. ↑ "He found his birth family 35 years later. Then he helped them find a 'vanished' sister". Archived from the original on 2021-10-29. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  16. ↑ "Sakkal Design & Branding Co. - Hacham Mordechai Abadi". leonsakkal.myportfolio.com. Archived from the original on 2021-10-15. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  17. ↑ "Pizmonim.org - Mordechai Abadi". www.pizmonim.org. Archived from the original on 2021-10-15. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  18. ↑ "Hakham Matloub Abadi: The Most Important Rabbi in the History of the Brooklyn Syrian Jewish Community". Archived from the original on 2021-10-15. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  19. ↑ "Area Library Shines from Essay Sales". Costa Mesa Daily Pilot. 2 September 1997.
  20. ↑ "Why Mom Deserves a Diamond Expands Contest to Jewelers". Diamond News. 30 January 2012.
  21. ↑ "Search for Birth Mother Results in Special Book for Watson". New Albany Ledger Tribune. 10 May 1998.
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