From cremated ashes to diamonds: The dead living in your figure ring

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Each year, the remains of between 800 and 900 people enter the facility. About three months later, they exit as diamonds, to be kept in a box or turned into jewelry.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source/Credit: NPR
By Rae Ellen Bichell | January 19, 2014

Diamonds are supposed to be a girl's best friend. Now, they might also be her mother, father or grandmother.

Swiss company Algordanza takes cremated human remains and — under high heat and pressure that mimic the Earth — compresses them into diamonds.

Rinaldo Willy, the company's founder and CEO, says he came up with the idea a decade ago. Since then, his customer base has expanded to 24 countries.

Each year, the remains of between 800 and 900 people enter the facility. About three months later, they exit as diamonds, to be kept in a box or turned into jewelry.

Most of the stones come out blue, Willy says, because contains trace amounts of boron, an element that bone formation. Occasionally, though, a diamond pops out white, yellow or close to black – Willy's not sure why. Regardless, he says, "every diamond from each person is slightly different. It's always a unique diamond."

Most of the orders Algordanza receives come from relatives of the recently deceased, though some people make arrangements for themselves to become diamonds once they've died. Willy says about 25 percent of his customers are from Japan.

An engraved metal skull which once belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots, bearing inscriptions relating to death. The skull unhinges to expose a watch.

In lieu of names, this headstone was engraved with a quote: "We grow afraid of what we might forget. We will find peace and value through community in knowing that we belong to each other. Dedicated to the Citizens of Bernalillo County."

A graveyard that will be recycled by the city of Durban in South Africa. The death toll in Durban has soared for years, largely due to HIV-related deaths, and cemeteries are running out of space.

At between $5,000 and $22,000, the process costs as much as some funerals. The and machinery involved are about the same as in a lab that makes synthetic diamonds from other carbon materials.

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Read original post here: From Ashes To Ashes To Diamonds: A Way To Treasure The Dead


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