Reuters Company News Diamonds are forever, and you could be too By Brad Dorfman
CHICAGO, Aug 21 (Reuters) - They say diamonds are forever. And now the dearly departed can be, too.
A Chicago company says it has developed a process for turning cremated human remains into diamonds that can be worn as jewelry. "We're building on the simple fact that all living creatures are carbon-based and diamonds are carbon-based," said Greg Herro, head of LifeGem Memorials. The blue diamonds are the answer to people who think a tombstone or an urn full of ashes is not personal enough. And they are portable, Herro said. Herro, who describes himself as an entrepreneur, said he has spent the past three years refining the process, successfully making a diamond from cremated human remains in July. A small thimbleful of carbon can be made into 0.25 carat diamond, for which LifeGem would charge $4,000. A full karat would cost $22,000.
HEAT AND PRESSURE The ash is first purified in a vacuum induction furnace at 3,000 degrees Celsius (about 5,400 F). It is then placed in a press under intense pressure and heat, replicating the forces that create a natural diamond. It takes about 16 weeks. Synthetic, or man-made, diamonds have been manufactured from carbon since the mid-1950s, when General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE - News) developed the process for making small diamonds for industrial uses. Avrum Blumberg, a chemistry professor at DePaul University in Chicago, said it is feasible to make a quality diamond from the carbon in a cremated human. "If it's done slowly and with a great deal of care, one could have a reasonably high-quality diamond," Blumberg said. In a telephone interview, Herro said his diamonds are of the same quality that "you would find at Tiffany's." He said that he has had two of the diamonds certified for quality by European Gemological Laboratory, an independent laboratory that vouches for the quality of diamonds. The diamonds were submitted anonymously by a partner who sells synthetic diamonds to avoid any bias in the appraisals. In a news release, Herro said that EGL would certify LifeGem's diamonds, though EGL said it has no formal relationship with LifeGem. "At this time, EGL USA does not have enough information about this new product to comment about the use of the EGL name in conjunction with it." Mark Gershburg, director of EGL USA, said in a prepared statement in response to inquiries. But he said it is impossible to distinguish LifeGem synthetic diamonds from other synthetic diamonds.
A SERVICE FOR THE FAMILY LifeGem's Web site lists a handful of funeral homes in the United States that will offer the service to customers. One is Fergerson Funeral Home in North Syracuse, New York. Funeral director Patricia Fergerson said nobody has asked that a loved one be turned into a diamond yet. But the funeral home sees this as another service it can offer. Meanwhile, an Illinois man with emphysema has signed up with LifeGem. About 26 percent of U.S. residents who died were cremated last year. But Herro has his eye on a growth market. "Japan is at 98 percent," he said.