Become a Diamond

I actually discovered this unique way to memorialize a loved one while attending a party.  I was chatting with a woman who was constantly rubbing the pendent around her neck between her thumb and forefinger.  I commented on her beautiful diamond necklace and she told me it was her late husband.  I was astonished and she explained about finding a company who will take a loved one’s remains (cremated) or a lock of hair and create a diamond for you.

LifeGem is based in Elk Grove Village, Illinois and has partner locations throughout the states.  They take your loved one’s cremated remains and create a diamond for you of up to one carat size.  And you don’t have to choose a colorless diamond.  You can have blue, red, green, yellow, or orange.  You buried your loved one many years ago?  Well, if you happen to have a lock of hair, LifeGem can extract the carbon from it as well and create your diamond.  Here’s a quick overview; they have a patented process to extract the carbon from the remains.  Once captured the carbon is heated to extremely high temperatures.  It removes the existing ash and converts your loved one’s carbon to graphite.  The graphite is placed in a diamond press which replicates the tremendous forces within the earth – heat and pressure.  Then the skilled diamond cutters facet your LifeGem diamond(s) according to your wishes, laser etch your unique identifier on it and certify it for authenticity.  These diamonds are “molecularly identical to natural diamonds found at any high-end jeweler.  To qualify as diamonds, they must have the exact same brilliance, fire, and hardness (the hardest substance known) as diamonds from the earth, and of course, they do!”

The LifeGem diamonds take from 6 to 9 months to create and range in price from $3500 up to around $20,000 for a one caret blue diamond.  LifeGem also offers ring and pendent settings for sale on their website.  And I almost forgot to mention you can have a LifeGem created out of a beloved pet’s remains too.

For more information see:  www.lifegem.com   

The other company who makes gems from cremated remains is “Memorial Gems”.  They offer pretty much the same service but you can have a diamond made up to 2 carats in size and they offer a wide selection of different “cuts”.  Find out more at www.memorialgems.com . 

And if diamonds aren’t your thing, you can also buy jewelry made from gold and/or silver into which you place some cremated remains.  Have a browse at www.funeral-urn.com