There are many things in life that are difficult to navigate or even talk about and death may be the most challenging of all. It is never easy to lose a loved one and finding a way to honour them or keep them with you after their passing is something we all choose to handle in different ways. What does remain a constant, though, is that we are all looking for our own unique way to pay tribute and as a result, there are increasingly more non-traditional post-burial options. Various and interesting techniques seem to be developing and there are some comforting and fulfilling options out there. You can now have your ashes turned into the base for growing a tree or have them made into wearable pendants. One such option gives you the choice to have your loved one’s ashes transformed into diamonds.
Diamonds are one of the hardest naturally occurring materials on the earth and are not only timeless but also beautiful and varied. Coming in a range of hues and shapes, diamonds are not a one-size-fits-all jewel. They are personal, varied and individual.
It is perhaps because of this that the iconic gemstone lends itself so well to this purpose. Should you choose to have your loved one’s ashes rendered into a diamond, you (or they) can determine the cut, colour, and size, allowing the result to be an ultimately personal design. This can then, of course, be further personalised depending on if you want your memorial diamond set in a specific piece of jewellery or any other item of your choosing.
Australia is home to a selection of businesses that will do this for you including LONITÉ, a Swiss company that has recently opened an office in Sydney and is a world leader in the synthetic diamond industry. Having the diamonds created can be done from as little as $2, 900, increasing depending on your wishes and requirements for the end result. Heart In Diamond, Algordanza, and Phoenix Memorials are also companies within Australia that will turn your loved one’s ashes into a diamond.
Synthetic diamonds, much like natural diamonds, are formed from carbon. Transforming ashes into diamonds is done using high pressure and high temperature after the carbon source has been extracted. LONITÉ is one of the companies that also observe a manual carbon purification process which takes an average of 5000 minutes.
This process ensures that there will be fewer impurities in the end result. After the ashes have been through the high-pressure high-temperature apparatus, which ‘grows’ the diamond, it is then cut and polished to your specifications. After the process is complete and you have received your diamond you can then have it made into a jewellery piece of your choosing and carry your loved one with you.
Memorial jewellery has been growing in popularity for some time now as people search for a meaningful way to either commemorate their loved ones or even as something they specify for themselves. Diamonds are a more specific way to do this but unique in that, unlike memorial jewellery which usually has a portion of ashes enclosed in the jewellery itself, the memorial diamond is, itself, the ashes of the person. Diamonds are also a timeless gemstone that represent love and strength which adds to what makes this choice so meaningful to some.
The choice to turn ashes into diamonds is not just something to consider for your loved ones. It is becoming increasingly prevalent for individuals to reconsider the way they want to be remembered and this is just one of the many innovative and thoughtful options that are open to us now. Whilst death and loss may always remain a seemingly unsurpassable affair, what happens after can bring a certain amount of closure and in this case, even comfort.