From Dust to Diamond: A New Take on Wearing Grandma's Ring
August 20, 02
U.S. based LifeGem Memorials, has come up with a rather novel way to immortalize the departed. The company has developed a certified, high quality diamond created from the carbon remains of deceased loved ones. It really gives a new twist to the meaning of a 'family heirloom'. Over the past three years, LifeGem Memorials has researched and developed a patent-pending process of tracking, collecting and purifying carbon from cremation through diamond creation, faceting and setting. "For two thousand years, grieving families have had two primary options--burial and cremation--to commemorate the life of the deceased and find solace through the grieving process," said Greg Herro, chief executive officer of LifeGem Memorials. "Our created diamond offers the most unique and timeless memorial available for creating a testimony to the life of a lost loved one." If wearing Grandma on your pinkie is an appealing idea, LifeGem is offering stones from one-quarter to one and one-half carats. They are even certified by the European Gemological Laboratory (EGL) in New York with clarity ranges from VVS to SI, with the majority rating VS or better. Apparently some of us really are of a better calibre than others. Initially, the LifeGem will be produced exclusively in blue, but future options will include red and yellow. "The LifeGem is not only valuable because of the quality, color and cut of the diamond produced," said Herro. "It serves as a unique personal remembrance that incites personal conversations and fond recollections for the bereaved." It will certainly be a conversation stopper around any dinner table.