Weird World: The DIY Breast Milk Diamond Ring

(IDEX Online) - A US company is selling breast milk diamond rings - featuring 12 lab grown stones and tiny channels that contain a mother's preserved milk.

Everlatch, a Los Angeles-based jewelry company, isn't the first to offer breast milk jewelry, but it says it has streamlined the process, with a DIY kit that allows buyers to preserve the milk themselves rather than mailing it to the company.

The 1.8mm-wide Becoming Ring is made from 925 sterling silver and comes in either 14K gold vermeil ($158) or rhodium-plated sterling silver ($169).

The stones are described as "1.3mm brilliant lab-grown diamonds." No further details are provided, although Everlatch says a diamond certificate is included.

Everlatch says the ring is "a delicate reminder of the journey that made you you" and says the keepsake is designed to hold a personal memory that can be worn every day.

The company has previously offered a "conventional" breast milk jewelry service, requiring customers to send 10 ml of milk, to be converted into a fine powder.

The new DIY kit includes preservation powder, resin, mixing tools and instructions.

The company says active working time is about 30 to 45 minutes and that most pieces cure within 48 to 72 hours. It says the process removes moisture from the milk before it is sealed in resin.

Everlatch says the finished milk material typically has a soft white or ivory color, although the appearance varies because every mother's milk is different. It says the finished piece should be kept away from prolonged exposure to water, heat, direct sunlight, perfumes, lotions and harsh chemicals.

The idea is to preserve something associated with a short-lived stage of motherhood and turn it into a permanent keepsake. Everlatch says the Becoming Ring was created to honor motherhood and "all the ways it changes us."

The earliest accounts of breast milk jewelry in the US date to the early 2000s. MommyMilk Creations, founded by Rhode Island mother Allicia Mogavero, started selling breast milk jewelry in 2007, initially to friends, before putting her designs on Etsy.

Pic, courtesy Everlatch, shows the Becoming Ring.