Image from MougueFile Free Photos
Many of you know that I refer to my beloved husband as Mr. Diamond due to his past couple years of constant travel. We have enjoyed the benefits that come with being a Delta Diamond member and I have reaped the benefits of that status many times. We are grateful for the special attention that frequent fliers get and think it is well deserved for those business travelers who spend a lot of time in the air and in airports.
With that being said I might have found a way to preserve Mr. Diamond’s status even if he does not remain the frequent flier that he has been the past few years. How, you may ask? Let me tell you.
A recent NPR piece entitled “From Ashes to Ashes To Diamonds: A Way to Treasure the Dead” written by Rae Ellen Bichell made its way to me via none other than Mr. Diamond himself. According to this report a Swiss company named Algordanza takes cremated human remains and through a complex process of high heat and pressure transforms those remains into diamonds. YES! The idea came from Rinaldo Willy, the company’s founder and CEO about 10 years ago.
Just how many folks have taken advantage of Mr. Willy’s technology? Each year 800-900 “remains” enter the facility and exit as diamonds about 3 months later for the cost of between $5,000 and $22,000 . It only takes a single pound of ashes to make a single diamond and he has been able to create as many as 9 diamonds out of one person’s ashes. It boggles my mind.
What do the stones look like? According to Mr. Willy most of the stones come out blue because the human body contains small amounts of boron and lends itself to a blue color. Sometimes a diamond will come out white, yellow or even close to black because as he says “every diamond from each person is slightly different. It’s always a unique diamond.”
You may wonder who would want to become a diamond after death. According to Mr. Willy 25% of his customers are from Japan. Many requests come from relatives of the deceased but often the requests are from the people themselves who wish to become a diamond after death.
A nice touch—Mr. Willy personally delivers the diamonds to his Swiss customers. There are other companies that are offering or plan to offer the same service. LifeGem in the USA offers the following:
• A certified, high-quality diamond created from a lock of hair or the cremated ashes of your loved one as a memorial to their unique life.
Over 5,000…The number of people who have their very own LifeGem diamond to date.
• A way to embrace your loved one’s memory day by day.
• The most beautiful cremation jewelry keepsake available for honoring their unique life.
• Comfort and support when and where you need it.
It all leaves a question in my mind. Do I want Mr. Diamond to live on forever when that day (far off in the future, hopefully) comes? Do the size of diamonds vary with the individual? Would I want jewelry made of “dear old Dad” to pass on to our two sons? Would he turn out blue? Or would he be the exception and be a dazzling white stone? In my mind he would be.
What do you think? Would you ever consider this as an option to the traditional funeral and burial?
40 Comments
Leave a commentThis at least makes me wonder……
It makes me wonder a great deal! 🙂
Oh my goodness! I did not expect the story to go that way. I would be totally creeped out by wearing someone that had turned into a diamond, but it’s an interesting idea. With dealing with grief say, whatever works as long as it’s not harmful. Years ago, I watched the whole television series Six Feet Under and liked the idea of a green burial, where there are parks designated for you to just get buried in the ground. I’ve also seen people can opt to be turned into a tree.
I agree—whatever makes you able to work through the grief is what you need to do but I agree. I always thought it was kind of creepy to get a vial of cremains of a loved one and wear them in a necklace. Not my cup of tea, I guess. I am all for cremation and the idea of not taking up space on our earth is appealing, too. But a diamond? Probably not.
From ashes to ashes to diamonds! I like it!! I have Joe’s remains. Now I just need the $5,000 and I could have one earring or two?
Maybe that could be a Kickstarter???? I am sure you could come up with a catchy name…..It might be a bit Odd but you could do it! 🙂
Wow ~ so interesting ~ I never knew ~ thanks for keeping us up to date!
Always here to help. 🙂
Definitely speaks volumes about our culture..
It does, doesn’t it??? I was just dumbfounded to be honest.
OMG! This is a first, for sure! Who knew such a thing were possible! I’m dumbfounded, as well! Long live, Mr. Diamond! (Okay, every sentence in my comment ends in an exclamation mark. Suppose that tells you something. LOL)
Hugs from Ecuador,
Kathy
It is a unique concept and I am not sure who would actually do this but I guess there are enough folks who want it that they offer it, right? I know a lot of folks keep ashes but I had never heard of turning the ashes into something like this. Amazing.
I’ve heard about this and, frankly, the thought makes me cringe. Unsettling. That would be my one-word reaction.
Good word.
FREAKY…… What happens to the diamond when the next of kin pass on? Estate Sale!!! No thanks. Ashes to ashes is good enough for me..
I never thought about estate sale—weird, huh???
Yes ma’am..
Holy s—. “The most beautiful cremation jewelry keepsake”… does this mean there are OTHER cremation jewelry keepsakes out there? Yuck! And, “Comfort and support when and where you need it.” —??? On a necklace or at the end of a keychain?? WTF?? Jeepers, creepers. And here I thought my day was going to end without any surprises.
Haahaaa–glad I could surprise you with this one Jadi! It is a little creepy if you ask me but then there are obviously folks who need that “constant reminder” of their loved one. I will keep my photos and memories, thank you very much!
Yikes. A subject I don’t even like to think about, but this does make me wonder… I could turn my husband into a heck of a ring! {kidding of course}
Haha, Jenni. What color do you think he would be? That is what got me baffled–why folks turn out different colors if we are all made up of the same stuff inside….
I’m all for preserving memories of departed loved ones, but turning them into a diamond? I think not. If the Church has a problem with members keeping cremation urns on their mantels, imagine what they’d say if you were wearing the dearly departed!!
It is a rather bizarre thing to think about for me. I guess different strokes for different folks, right?
Wow. I suppose that people have done the hair thing for years…but this seems a little weird !
A little, I agree. 🙂
Ok…. I guess I’ll have to say no to having my ashes turned into diamonds – I’m still trying to decide on burial in a casket or being cremated. Having a hard time too wrapping my mind around the idea of wearing my husband around my neck – that is should he go before me! Guess my last statement would be – “what a way to make a buck”! Wow, what will they think of next….
I remember my husband when I wear my engagement wedding rings and looking at pictures of him. Why would I need anything else?
What ever will they think of next. I’m not that big on diamonds so probably not..
It is a weird thing to think of, isn’t it???
I don’t think so. How long before someone starts selling our loved ones on the black market?
Now there is a thought! And not a good one.
As much as I am a diamond girl….AH NO! I did see a news story on this a long time ago and knew about it, but it creeps me out. As for why we turn a different color….is this where we say, ” you are what you eat?” LOL
Oh gosh—I don’t know about that being the color! Perhaps so!!!! That made me laugh!
Well, it is definitely an interesting idea. I think it is nice when the deceased person’s jewelry is turned into new jewelry/settings for immediate family members but I’m not sure about turning the actual person into jewelry…
I like the repurposing idea of estate jewelry but not the actual repurposing of the actual person! What if you lost it—what then? all kinds of thoughts go through my mind….
I actually heard about this a few month ago when my step father’s mother passed away. She apparently requested her grandson to send her ashes to the US to be made into a diamond. She is one person Incouldnt imagine wearing as a diamond – let’s just leave it at that. It’s a bit weird and creepy if you ask me.
Oh my goodness–you actually know someone (knew) that wanted this done???? That is wild. I just don’t think I could actually “wear a person”. 🙂
Me neither.
I think I would prefer having a diamond on the shelf much more than an urn, but I don’t think I would want either to be quite truthful! I certainly could never wear a piece of jewelery made with a loved one’s ashes. If Kelvin goes first I would rather put his ashes with his mother’s grave (which is where we both would like to rest), in a small cemetery in the middle of a bunch of farm land, near a creek with a couple of large trees for shade.
Hmm, I’ve read a couple of articles about this, but it seems like its not allowed in Germany, where I live (in contrast to Switzerland) as you aren’t even allowed to keep cremations ashes at home…Does anybody know more about the regulations in Germany?
Regards, Isabella