Candyman
07-21-2004, 10:26 AM
Posted on Wed, Jul. 21, 2004
I M A G E S A N D R E L A T E D C O N T E N T
A diamond from LifeGem Memorials, a company that collects and purifies ashes after cremation and uses them to create diamonds.
R E L A T E D L I N K S
• A diamond as eternal memory
Ashes to ashes, dust to diamonds
Funeral home offers conversion of cremains to gem stones
By TANYA FOGG YOUNG
Staff Writer
For those who want to carry around more than a memory of a deceased loved one, there is an option.
A diamond. One made from the carbon contained in the ashes, or cremated remains, of a person. Or a beloved pet.
Caughman-Harman Funeral Home in Lexington recently became the first Midlands business certified by LifeGem Memorials. A Chicago-area company, LifeGem collects and purifies ashes after cremation at funeral homes, creating diamonds using a patent-pending process.
With cremations on the rise, a diamond made from “cremains” is a unique family keepsake, said Brent Caughman, general manager of Caughman-Harman Funeral Home.
“I don’t think we will see it being used daily or weekly, but if one person is interested, that’s something,” Caughman said.
Manmade diamonds are not new. In the 1950s, General Electric developed a process to manufacture diamonds in a lab. These synthetic diamonds were first used for such items as drill bits and other cutting devices. Later, synthetic diamond jewelry was introduced.
Making diamonds from loved ones’ remains is a new twist.
For creation of a gem, the funeral home needs to send 8 ounces of cremains to LifeGem in Illinois, which then will extract the carbon in a lab, said Samantha Nienberg, Caughman-Harman funeral director, embalmer and family service counselor. LifeGem uses the entire 8 ounces in the process, she said.
The finished gem will be a diamond in shades of yellow with hues of pink and orange, costing anywhere from $2,500 to about $14,000. Cuts are round, radiant or princess.
Krista Buyck Birchmore, manager of Columbia’s Gudmundson & Buyck Jewelers, said the concept is getting a lot of press in jewelry trade publications.
“The first inclination is to sort of laugh at it, but it is sort of a natural extension of the cremation process instead of spreading ashes around,” said Birchmore, adding she first heard of the concept about two years ago.
Birchmore, although fond of jewelry, is not sure she would personally opt for that type of memorial.
“It’s a strange concept,” she said. “It’s either for someone very sentimental or somebody relatively eccentric.”
Or a little of both.
Greg Herro, chief executive officer of 3-year-old LifeGem, sees the diamond as a more meaningful alternative to burial and cremation.
“For 2,000 years, grieving families have had two primary options — burial and cremation — to commemorate the life of the deceased,” he said in a statement. “Now, as a third option, (the diamond) serves as an everlasting connection.”
Caughman-Harman Funeral Home is the only company in Columbia and among five in South Carolina offering the diamond “memorial” from human cremains.
Animal lovers also have an option. Good Shepherd Pet Services, a pet cremation and memorialization company in Williamston, is a certified LifeGem pet memorial provider.
In South Carolina, the number of cremations rose from 11 percent in 1997 to 15 percent in 2001, according to the Cremation Association of North America.
Reach Young at (803) 771-8659 or tfyoung@thestate.com.
/ccboard/images/graemlins/blush.gif /ccboard/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /ccboard/images/graemlins/confused.gif /ccboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /ccboard/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I M A G E S A N D R E L A T E D C O N T E N T
A diamond from LifeGem Memorials, a company that collects and purifies ashes after cremation and uses them to create diamonds.
R E L A T E D L I N K S
• A diamond as eternal memory
Ashes to ashes, dust to diamonds
Funeral home offers conversion of cremains to gem stones
By TANYA FOGG YOUNG
Staff Writer
For those who want to carry around more than a memory of a deceased loved one, there is an option.
A diamond. One made from the carbon contained in the ashes, or cremated remains, of a person. Or a beloved pet.
Caughman-Harman Funeral Home in Lexington recently became the first Midlands business certified by LifeGem Memorials. A Chicago-area company, LifeGem collects and purifies ashes after cremation at funeral homes, creating diamonds using a patent-pending process.
With cremations on the rise, a diamond made from “cremains” is a unique family keepsake, said Brent Caughman, general manager of Caughman-Harman Funeral Home.
“I don’t think we will see it being used daily or weekly, but if one person is interested, that’s something,” Caughman said.
Manmade diamonds are not new. In the 1950s, General Electric developed a process to manufacture diamonds in a lab. These synthetic diamonds were first used for such items as drill bits and other cutting devices. Later, synthetic diamond jewelry was introduced.
Making diamonds from loved ones’ remains is a new twist.
For creation of a gem, the funeral home needs to send 8 ounces of cremains to LifeGem in Illinois, which then will extract the carbon in a lab, said Samantha Nienberg, Caughman-Harman funeral director, embalmer and family service counselor. LifeGem uses the entire 8 ounces in the process, she said.
The finished gem will be a diamond in shades of yellow with hues of pink and orange, costing anywhere from $2,500 to about $14,000. Cuts are round, radiant or princess.
Krista Buyck Birchmore, manager of Columbia’s Gudmundson & Buyck Jewelers, said the concept is getting a lot of press in jewelry trade publications.
“The first inclination is to sort of laugh at it, but it is sort of a natural extension of the cremation process instead of spreading ashes around,” said Birchmore, adding she first heard of the concept about two years ago.
Birchmore, although fond of jewelry, is not sure she would personally opt for that type of memorial.
“It’s a strange concept,” she said. “It’s either for someone very sentimental or somebody relatively eccentric.”
Or a little of both.
Greg Herro, chief executive officer of 3-year-old LifeGem, sees the diamond as a more meaningful alternative to burial and cremation.
“For 2,000 years, grieving families have had two primary options — burial and cremation — to commemorate the life of the deceased,” he said in a statement. “Now, as a third option, (the diamond) serves as an everlasting connection.”
Caughman-Harman Funeral Home is the only company in Columbia and among five in South Carolina offering the diamond “memorial” from human cremains.
Animal lovers also have an option. Good Shepherd Pet Services, a pet cremation and memorialization company in Williamston, is a certified LifeGem pet memorial provider.
In South Carolina, the number of cremations rose from 11 percent in 1997 to 15 percent in 2001, according to the Cremation Association of North America.
Reach Young at (803) 771-8659 or tfyoung@thestate.com.
/ccboard/images/graemlins/blush.gif /ccboard/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /ccboard/images/graemlins/confused.gif /ccboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /ccboard/images/graemlins/grin.gif