Families want to keep their dearly departed as close to them as possible. During the grieving process, we often
cling to items that were closely associated with the departed. Spouses may wear
or cradle clothing, children often refuse to let go of something that was
personal between them and the deceased. Anything that was personal to the
deceased takes on new meaning after they have left us.
Occasionally, families may opt for some other form of honoring and
remembering the dead, like planting a tree in the back yard or some favored
location. They may continue or start campaigns that do honor the dead and bring
about awareness for one ideology or another; usually to great results. However, most deaths don’t take on such a prolific role; except in our
own lives.
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| A memorial diamond lasts your love to the eternality. |
There is truly no wrong way to keep an emotional connection to those we
have lost, but sometimes we want for nothing more than one more day with them.
Since it is impossible to have that one more day, but memorial diamonds made
from cremation ashes do offer a great alternative. These diamonds will serve as very special
reminder of our loved one till the end of our days, where we might decide that
we would like to be remade for the ones we leave behind.
Diamonds are Forever
While it may seem like marketing hit the nail on the head when it came
to diamonds, it only has these meanings to us after years of tradition. Like
all traditions, it only took one special person for us to start repeating the
process; all the while taking on parts of them and ourselves when we did it.
Allow memorial diamonds to be your next tradition.
If we
can remember back to our youth, we learned that the human body was considered a carbon-based life form; and that diamonds were pure carbon that had been
exposed to extremely high temperatures and an equally high amount of pressure;
and then millions of years before turned into the diamonds we see today.
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| HTHP apparatus – the key to turn
the refined ashes into eternal diamond. |
The technology to produce artificial or synthetic diamonds has been around since the 1950’s, however there was no economically
feasible way to mass produce them, which is why they still retain their value
alongside the naturally occurring diamonds. However, that technology has grown
to the point where we can use a portion of either cremated remains or a
portion of hair and transform them into diamonds.
How It’s Done
The
process is a lengthy one, and does take into consideration what kind of diamond
is wanted as the end result. It does require mentioning that memorial diamonds
are opposite of naturally occurring diamonds in
some key features. Colored diamonds that occur in nature are indeed quite rare
and more valuable. Memorial diamonds on the other hand are commonly colored,
usually with intermittent shades of amber. These aber shades range from a light
yellow to a warm orange.
These aren’t the only differences though. Memorial diamonds can be made to reflect the status quo of naturally occurring diamonds,
but it does take longer in both the purification process and in the High
Temperature High Pressure machine to achieve a colorless diamond.
The initial step is the purification of the remains or hair samples.
This step is undergone several times to remove as much as 99.99% of all
impurities and heavy metals that can be found in the human body. While the goal
is a pure carbon ash, the nitrogen is often left in to give the diamond its color. At the request of the
donor or the family members of the donor, the nitrogen can be completely
removed to make a colorless diamond.
The average time is right around 6 months from submission to completion,
but it depends on the desired amount of diamonds as well as any particular
color variance, and can take up to nine months or more.
Are They Diamonds
There
certainly is some acceptable amount of scepticism with taking a company at it
word and their letter of authenticity. This decision is most likely made amidst
the grieving process, not years after our loved ones have passed away.
However, there are 2 awesomely huge independant laboratories that will
gladly test a memorial diamond and submit a report to you on the authenticity
of it being a diamond. The GIA (Gemological Institute of
America) or the IGI(International
Gemological Institute) will validate the claims of the company; however,
these reports are commonly used to distinguish the 4 C’s of diamonds.
Memorial diamonds don’t lose the personality of their donor however,
there is a chance that they will have the same blemishes and flaws as any
commercially available diamond on the market today. However, you or your family
as the recipients may feel this only enhances the meaning behind the diamond in
the first place. And like in nature, no two memorial diamonds are exactly the
same.
To be upfront, the independent laboratories will not be able to tell if your memorial diamond is your loved one, but they will tell you that it is a
laboratory created or synthetic diamond. But they will be proven to be a real
diamond.
Keeping Loved Ones Close
How we finally determine to keep our loved ones close to us is a
personal choice. Because our loved ones have returned to us in the form of a
memorial diamond, it is most common to be set in some kind of
jewellery; from rings to earrings.
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| Memorial diamond jewellery provides a chance to keep your beloved one
close by. |
Commonly, memorial diamonds are used in a ring setting and are
more for the spouse than the entire family. While it is possible to submit
enough cremated remains or hair to make to make more than one ring, it might
take longer. Pendants are another
wonderful jewellery based solution for memorial diamonds, as are charms for a
bracelet or earrings. Any of these can quickly become a very prized possession
because of the emotional ties to the making of a memorial diamond.
But the possibilities aren’t restricted to jewellery.
Anything that reminds us of our loved ones is cherished, and made all
the more powerful when we affix a memorial diamond to them. New family
heirlooms can be started with memorial diamonds, like a new scrap book or a
plaque depicting the family tree.
Then again, it doesn’t need to wait until the end of life to start a new
life. It can be seen as slightly morbid, but making a memorial diamond means
giving up a little of one’s self. Because of the ability to use hair or
cremated remains, the living can start a tradition of making memorial diamonds
for their family members, as their family grows. Leaving the choice to the
survivors when the time does eventually come might be the best gift a deceased
loved one can give back.
In the End
After a lengthy process of being purified and being exposed to extreme temperatures and pressure, memorial diamonds rejoin their
family, ready to join them on their next adventure in life. Or, they are
delivered to unsuspecting family members as a truly selfless gift; showing that
your love knows no bounds and to make sure that you are eternally their and
forever with them in everything they do.
The decision to make a memorial diamond, either before or after death is
a very personal decision. What we do with the memorial diamonds is even more
personal. But this personal decision can mean the word to those who love us.
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