Gold and diamonds are the two most precious types of jewelry known to humanity. Therefore, since ancient times, humans have labored to find ways to create them. The result is that alchemists throughout history have failed in their attempts to produce gold. However, with diamonds, humans have succeeded. Even today, it is possible to create diamonds from… cremated remains.
Synthetic Diamonds
Diamonds, a type of gemstone formed deep within the Earth over millions of years, are considered the hardest known mineral. Consequently, for many years, people have worked hard to create synthetic diamonds. Yellow diamonds, which are rare, have been produced by a U.S. company called Gemesis Corp, located in Florida, and are now available in some prestigious jewelry stores across the country, including Sandy Alison Diamonds and Fine Jewelry. Gemesis employs a system that utilizes temperatures reaching 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, based in Boston, Massachusetts, has also succeeded in producing nearly flawless white diamonds. These are genuine diamonds created by both Apollo and Gemesis using advanced techniques. They are identical to natural diamonds in terms of chemical structure, optical properties, and form. Apollo uses a sealed chamber where carbon vapor gradually adheres to each atom of a real diamond fragment, eventually forming a nearly perfect white diamond.
Unique Diamonds
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 a men’s wedding band to feature a diamond, that is not the unique aspect we want to highlight. The special feature of the blue diamond on his ring, along with two other synthetic diamonds he owns, is that these diamonds were not formed deep within the Earth millions of years ago, but rather are synthetic diamonds created by compressing carbon under extremely high pressure from an unusual source.
These three synthetic diamonds were made from the cremated remains of his late mother. Bill Lucas stated that he commissioned these gems to keep the memories of his mother close to him forever and to honor her memory; in life, she shone as brightly as a priceless diamond.
The synthetic diamonds created from his mother’s remains were produced by a company called LifeGem. This Illinois-based company has offices specializing in commercial services in six countries. To date, LifeGem has produced over 1,000 diamonds made from the ashes of deceased individuals for approximately 500 families. Among these families, one family has commissioned 11 diamonds from their loved one’s ashes, suggesting that the individual may have been quite tall in life.
The process of creating synthetic gems from a loved one’s ashes involves five stages, utilizing temperatures over 3,000°C at a pressure of 7,000 kg/cm². In this process, carbon molecules do not burn but instead decompose into pure carbon, which then forms the gems. Afterward, they are cooled, cut, and polished.
The prices for these synthetic diamonds range from $2,500 for a 1/4 carat diamond to $14,000 for a 1-carat diamond.
By utilizing the ashes of loved ones to transform them into synthetic gems, the phrase “Dust to dust” in funerals could now be 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 the sophisticated machinery found in advanced laboratories, such as the Gemological Institute of America. Additionally, these diamonds are laser-engraved by the company to clearly identify them as synthetic diamonds. However, without this engraving, no one can tell the difference. Apollo is also collaborating with the Gemological Institute of America to find a method for identifying diamonds produced by their synthetic process.
