The Ultimate Post-Life Hack: How to Turn Ashes into Diamonds
There are new ways to think about the way you go out once the music stops!
It’s probably not a question you spend too much time pondering in your daily lives, but what do you want happen to you when the record stops and your time on this mad little world is over?
I’d never really thought all too much about this topic until I came across LONITÉ, a company which specialises in turning the dead into diamonds for their loved ones. The company headquarters is in Switzerland, 25 minutes from downtown Zurich, and they are not the only ones working in what is an ever more popular industry that looks to preserve the memory of the deceased by turning their hair or ashes into diamonds.
So How Do You Go About Turning Ashes Into Diamonds?
The theory behind it all is really quite simple. The human body is made up of about 18% carbon, and diamonds are basically pure carbon. If you decide that you would like something more than a traditional burial or spreading of your loved ones ashes, you can instead send the hair or ashes to LONITÉ who will then start the process of turning the human ashes into a diamond. You are then able to keep this diamond in your home as some kind of memorial piece, or the diamond can be worn as piece of jewellery which you can have forever by your side.
If you’re new to this idea, chances are that you might find the whole concept a little macabre, but when you take a moment to dwell on it, it really makes perfect sense. There can be few better ways to celebrate a loved ones passing by keeping a form of them with you physically forever. When doing this with beautiful memorial diamonds, you not only honour your love for the person who has passed, but you do so by turning them into a subtle, but beautiful piece of diamond jewellery.
How Long Does The Process Take, and Where Is Cremation Jewellery Most Popular?
The technical process is quite a fascinating one. The cremation ashes or hair are sent to Switzerland where they are analysed so that the carbon can be extracted and purified. Once the carbon has been isolated and extracted, a HPHT technology is used: High-Pressure, High Temperature, to recreate natural underground environment in the LONITÉ laboratory, at 3000 K. This is an incredible 60,000 times stronger than normal atmosphere pressure.
The process of turning the ashes into diamonds is quite a complicated one that does take time, but it is also one that is becoming increasingly popular all over the world. Switzerland is the hub of the ashes to diamonds industry, and the Swiss people are some of those who most commonly choose this service today. Americans are also slowly beginning to realise that this process of turning cremation ashes into cremation jewellery is an interesting new chapter in the way we process the passing of a loved one. Not only is this process a new way of celebrating the life of somebody truly special, it is generally a cheaper alternative to a traditional funeral.
How Much Does Turning Ashes to Diamonds Cost?
The prices for this kind of service start from 2500 Swiss Francs (approx. US $ 2600), which will see you receive a 0.25 diamond carat. The ashes to diamonds cost increases if you would like to receive a larger stone. The colour of your stone will be amber when the cremation ashes are processed under basic conditions, and thus cheaper than other colours. If the nitrogen is removed from the cremation ashes the diamond will be colourless (white). If the laboratory removes the Nitrogen but preserves both carbon and boron, the diamond will become blue. Colourless diamonds are those which have the most purity, and thus have the most expensive cost.
Whether the thought of turning your ashes into diamonds is something that interests you are not, there is no denying that this kind of process definitely makes you think differently about the post-life process.
We’ve always known that diamonds are forever, but now we can all be so too!
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