The Second Memorable Wristwatch Essay Contest
-This Year's Best Essay Prizewinners Decided

Seiko Instruments Inc. (Abbreviation: SII, COO: Akio Irie, Headquarters: 8, Nakase 1-chome, Mihama-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, Tel:+81-43-211-1111) has announced this year’s prizewinners of “The Second Memorable Wristwatch Essay Contest” invited on the SII home page for children “Toki wo Manabou” (http://www.kodomo-seiko.com/).

“Toki wo Manabou” (http://www.kodomo-seiko.com/) is an Internet site that gets children thinking about the concepts of “hour and time,” and is a place for adults, such as parents and teachers, and children to have fun together. The site is run jointly by three companies: Seiko Corporation, Seiko Instruments Inc. and Seiko Epson Corporation. As a site which promotes lifelong learning and the search for knowledge in young people today, “Toki wo Manabou” received the [good site] award from the Advanced Visual Communication Center in 2001, and has enjoyed the patronage of many.

For the second time in its history, “Toki wo Manabou” invited each of its viewers to submit a “Memorable Wristwatch Essay” that depicts encounters experienced or memories made with a wristwatch. Two hundred and ninety two entries were received in the year 2002. For the writer, the contents of the essay renewed the feeling that the wristwatch that ticked at the time of a first meeting or separation from a significant person was a memento of that experience. While each month two essays were selected as the best essays of that month, the most exceptional essays among the monthly winners have been announced as this year’s best essay prizewinners.
As a result of strict examination, the highest award goes to “Father’s Watch” by Kazuya Omori of Mie Prefecture. Mr. Ohmori received the Seiko DOLCE & EXCELINE watch pair as an award. The other prizewinners are listed below.

[Second Memorable Wristwatch Essay Contest] This Year’s Best Essay Prizewinners
Grand Prize: “Father’s Watch” by Kazuya Ohmori
Award: Seiko DOLCE & EXCELINE watch pair

Merit Prize: “Wheels” by Remi
Award: Seiko Electronic Dictionary SR9700

Special Mention: “My Little Sister’s Secret” by Maki Ito, “The Blue Wristwatch” by Hako Kimura, “Wristwatches and My Boy Growing Up” by Hiroko Kogiso
Award: Seiko radio clock (table clock)

The evaluation results and prize-winning essays will be posted on the “Toki wo Manabou” Web site (http://www.kodomo-seiko.com/). All other submitted essays will also be posted on the site. Feel free to look and enjoy.
“Toki wo Manabou” is now inviting viewers to submit entries in “The Third Memorable Timepiece Essay Contest” as instructed below. We all look forward in anticipation to many wonderful essays this year as well.

The Third Memorable Timepiece Essay ContestDetails: You are invited to submit essays (800 characters or less) describing an encounter experienced or memory made with a timepiece, such as a wristwatch, wall clock and table clock.Submission period: January 10 – December 31, 2003Submission method: Submit your essay to the “Toki wo Manabou” Web site (http:kodomo-seiko.com/).Evaluation: The best essays of the month will be announced monthly. Prizewinners will receive a “kodomo-seiko original wristwatch.”

Prizewinner: Essay by Kazuya Ohmori “Father’s Watch”
My father’s wristwatch is covered with nicks and scratches. The dial, having been scorched by the sun, has turned brown.As a boy, I looked at the watches with thin leather bands worn by the fathers of my friends and admired their stylishness. The embarrassment I felt as I compared the watches reflected the thoughts and feelings I had toward my father.

My father was a carpenter. A person who worked hard every day from early morning to sunset. He sweats, and a leather watchband would have quickly become dingy and tattered. This I now understand, but at the time I looked at that badly scratched watch without considering such things and felt a bit disappointed in my station in life. I had always admired the corporate white-collar worker, and never acknowledged my father who wasn’t. I remember when he would bathe I could see a white line standing out sharply against his sunburned body. The white line is the mark left by his watch. That area alone is pure white. I was embarrassed by the mark and would look away. “Put on a suit!” “Wear a watch with a leather band!” Though I didn’t voice these thoughts, I always muttered them deep down inside.

Now, I am a teacher. I work wearing that suit I so admired. When I graduated from college and became newly employed, my father said he wanted to buy me a gift. I asked him to give me the watch. The watch now shines on my wrist. That watch worn by my father that is covered with nicks and scratches. When I put on the watch, I am enveloped by warmth. To describe the feeling as gratitude would be a bit of exaggeration. The feeling I have is one of determination: I must work hard. As a father and worker, I now understand the significance of my father’s watch. Though it falls behind five minutes each month, the watch is a continual inspiration.Someday I will pass the watch on to the man in my daughter’s life.


Contact Information
Seiko Instruments Inc.
Corporate Strategy
Corporate Communications Dept.
Arai, Kanou
Fax:+81-43-211-8011

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