Gold and diamonds are the two most precious types of jewelry known to humanity. Thus, since ancient times, humans have tirelessly sought ways to create them. The result has been that alchemists throughout history have failed in their attempts to produce gold. However, when it comes to diamonds, humans have succeeded. In fact, today, it is even possible to create diamonds from… ashes.
Synthetic Diamonds
Diamonds, a type of gemstone formed deep within the Earth over millions of years, are regarded as the hardest known mineral. For many years, humans have diligently sought to create synthetic diamonds. Rare yellow diamonds have been produced by a Florida-based company named Gemesis Crop, and are now available at a few renowned jewelry stores across the country, including Sandy Alison Diamonds and Fine Jewelry. Gemesis employs machinery that reaches temperatures of up to 1,500°C and extremely high pressure to transform a high-quality piece of graphite into a yellow diamond within 80 hours. Another company, Apollo Diamond Inc, located in Boston, Massachusetts, has also managed to produce nearly flawless, transparent white diamonds. These are genuine diamonds created by Apollo and Gemesis using advanced technological methods. They are identical to natural diamonds in terms of chemical, optical structure, and form. Apollo uses a sealed chamber where carbon vapor is slowly deposited onto the atoms of a real diamond fragment, gradually forming a nearly perfect white diamond.
A Unique Diamond
William Lucas, a 50-year-old construction contractor from North Carolina, wears a wedding ring featuring a large 1/3 carat diamond. While it is somewhat unusual for men to wear diamond-studded wedding rings, this is not the special aspect we want to highlight here. What makes the blue diamond on his ring and the two other synthetic diamonds he owns remarkable is that they are not formed from the Earth millions of years ago, but are synthetic diamonds created by compressing carbon under extremely high pressure, derived from an unusual source.
The three synthetic gems were formed from the ashes of his late mother. Bill Lucas stated that he had these gems made to keep the memories of his mother forever close to him, remembering her as radiant as a priceless diamond during her lifetime.
The synthetic diamonds made from his mother’s ashes were produced by LifeGem, a company based in Illinois with commercial services in six countries. To date, this company has created over 1,000 diamonds from the ashes of the deceased for around 500 families. Among them, one family commissioned 11 diamonds from the ashes of a loved one, suggesting that this individual must have been quite tall in life.
The process of creating these synthetic gems from the ashes of loved ones consists of five stages, utilizing temperatures exceeding 3,000°C at a pressure of 7,000 kg/cm². In this process, carbon molecules do not burn but instead break down into pure carbon, forming the gems. They are then cooled, cut, and polished.
The prices for these synthetic diamonds range from $2,500 for a 1/4 carat to $14,000 for a 1 carat stone.
By using the ashes of loved ones to create synthetic gems, the phrase “Dust to dust” at funerals can now be slightly altered to “Dust will become precious gems.”
It is nearly impossible to distinguish synthetic diamonds from Gemesis from natural diamonds unless one has access to sophisticated laboratory equipment and gemology experts, such as those from the Gemological Institute of America. Furthermore, these diamonds are laser-engraved by the company to clearly indicate they are synthetic. However, without this engraving, no one can tell the difference. Apollo is also collaborating with the Gemological Institute of America to find a method to identify diamonds produced by their synthetic processes.
