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Diamonds to die for

Death is a touchy topic to discuss. Some of us may feel uncomfortable addressing it, but it’s worth considering one’s last requests.

One beautiful method is having your remains cremated, then converting your ashes into diamonds. You can now be honored, remembered and worn as jewelry by loved ones for generations to come.

For a decade, Swiss company Algordanza has been turning cremation ashes into diamonds. LifeGem is the first U.S. company to develop a way to extract carbon from human remains, which is a vital process for turning humans into diamonds. Although it was founded in 2001, LifeGem still hasn’t obtained much popularity or sales.

Here’s how the process works:

  1. The remains of an individual are cremated. Those ashes are then brought to LifeGem.
  2. The carbon from the remains is purified and turned into graphite.
  3. The graphite is placed into a diamond synthesis press, where they are converted to diamonds.
  4. The diamonds are cut in one of three ways: round brilliant, radiant or princess.
  5. After that, they are inscribed with an identifier and graded by gemologists.
  6. The gem is then presented with a signed certificate of authenticity, which contains a LifeGem ID number.

The entire process takes six to nine months, depending on the color of the diamond.

It goes without saying that LifeGem diamonds would hold significantly greater personal value than retail diamonds would.

I mention this because these LifeGem diamonds, appearing like regular jewelry, may be at risk for theft. Think about how heartbreaking it would be to lose a LifeGem that was made from a very close relative.

We are definitely moving to a future where we have more options and innovations to memorialize and honor loved ones. Check out the sidebar for more ways that could potentially lead to both graveyards and the burial process becoming obsolete.

Other options:

  • Request seven or less grams of your remains to be launched into outer space. There are prices that go for about as much as funerals, which is definitely out of this world.
  • Be frozen by nitrogen and made into fertilizer. You not only do the environment a favor, but you ultimately become a part of it.
  • Get pressed into a record. For those who are crazy for vinyl, you can become a copy of your favorite album.
  • Become a cool light display by mixing ashes into professional fireworks. You can literally go out with a bang.
  • Be placed into an organic burial pod, which turns you into a tree. This process is still controversial and conceptual. The idea is to alter the way we bury loved ones in cemeteries by instead planting trees in their honor in hopes of creating sacred forests. The idea of walking into a sacred forest may sound promising, but I can see them being as terrifying as a classic graveyard at night. Besides, would you leave flowers beside the tree that marks a loved one?

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