Conversation Topic - Ashes to Diamonds

Ashes to Diamonds



Wow what a topic. The idea of having your dead relatives turned into diamonds really got people talking.Most, who expressed a preference, didn't like the idea, but preferred the traditional burial or normal cremation.One thing though it did get people talking!

The Reading



British customers are flocking to an American company which has developed the technology to turn human remains into diamonds.

LifeGem Memorials has patented a 16-week process that involves purifying ash at 3,000 C before it is further heated and pressurised into a diamond. The diamonds range in cost from £2,500 to £14,000. In Europe, they are certified by the European Gemological Laboratory, which examines gems from across the world.

The company has already taken a flood of enquiries from Britons who want to turn their relatives into diamonds.

'The average person has enough carbon in them to produce between 50 and 100 diamonds,' said Amanda Leesburgh, a company spokesperson. 'It's a simple process. We're basically taking the fact that all living creatures are carbon-based, and so are diamonds. Once we figured out how to get between the two, the process worked. We've been surprised by the number of people who have called in to inquire. I think people across the world like the idea of wearing a diamond that is very much part of their loved one.'



The news comes amid a boom for crematoriums in Britain, a rise that can be attributed to escalating burial costs - undertakers charge between £1,500 and £2,000 for the average funeral, while crematorium charges average around £250. Britain has one of the highest cremation rates in the world, with 70 per cent of the 600,000 people who die each year being cremated.