TABLE OF CONTENT
Diamonds from Cremated Ashes
Are Cremation Diamonds in the Lab True?
How Are Lab-Grown Cremation Diamonds Made?
How Much Does It Cost to Turn Ashes into a Lab-Grown Diamond?
Where Can We Make the Cremation Diamond?
The More to Say
Since the distant Middle Ages, human beings have been pursuing immortality through various fantasy operations. Now that we have stepped into the 21st century, can the rapidly developing science help humankind live forever? It is still impossible in terms of age, but it is possible in terms of memorial sense. After you die, your body may be turned into a diamond. It sounds a bit mysterious. But it is. Suppose you wonder about the secrets behind the cremation diamond in the lab. In that case, this article will reveal it and focus on how science can give you the memorial gem in the form of a man-made laboratory diamond.
We now appreciate technology offers us a whole new and creative way to honor the memory of our lost beloved ones.
Diamonds from Cremated Ashes
Diamond burial is an emerging form of burial, which refers to the cremation of the deceased's ashes through laboratory synthesis into an artificial diamond, also known as Cremation Diamond. The essential component in diamonds is carbon, which is also one of the essential elements that make up the human body, and the cremated ashes still contain 2% carbon. So, some companies see this business opportunity, the carbon in the ashes extracted, the use of high-tech synthesis of the unique ashes diamond, the real purpose of making people "immortal."
Natural diamonds take billions of years to form under the extreme pressures and temperatures of the earth's core-mantle layer, about 150 miles underground. Over millions of years, these gems were pushed to the surface by volcanic activity, where they were mined and coveted by humans as a symbol of eternal love. In 1954, General Electric became the first company to successfully replicate these high-temperature and high-pressure conditions by creating diamonds from elemental carbon in a laboratory. These man-made gems first became commercially available in the 1980s.
Are Cremation Diamonds in the Lab Real Diamonds?
The only difference between natural diamonds and laboratory diamonds is carbon. One is formed naturally from carbon, and the other is man-made by extracting carbon in an experiment.
Diamond is the hardest of the natural minerals and is cut and polished. In simple terms, a natural diamond is a monolithic crystal of carbon with a cubic structure formed under high temperatures and pressure deep in the earth. In the 1950s, as the price of natural diamonds rose, the idea of synthesizing this beautiful crystal was born.
The basic principle of HTHP diamond synthesis technology is to phase transform graphite in an artificially constructed high-temperature and high-pressure environment to obtain lab-grown diamonds with a stable diamond structure. In general, this process requires 10 GP and pressures and temperatures above 3000°C. Even with the addition of some catalysts, the necessary conditions for the reaction are more demanding.
The other technology for lab-made diamonds is chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which uses a diamond base as a substrate and passes a plasma of methane and hydrogen at a lower temperature (800°C) relative to that in HTHP technology. So that carbon atoms are continuously deposited onto the substrate to obtain larger lab-grown diamonds with the same composition and structure as natural diamonds. Although the quality of lab-grown diamonds is getting higher as technology advances, they are still difficult to see on the market because of their high equipment and technology costs, low yields and cost even more than natural diamonds.
How Are Lab-Grown Cremation Diamonds Made?
Analysis and Testing
After receiving the ashes, the lab staff first analyzed them for composition. This study examines several elements in the ashes, mainly the carbon content, without physically treating the ashes themselves. If the carbon content is sufficient, it will go directly to the next step of carbon extraction.
Extraction of Carbon
After the first step, the ashes will then proceed to the carbon extraction process, where carbon of up to 90% purity is extracted from the ashes through wet chemical and physical processes. Once the lab staff has extracted the carbon, it will move to the next conversion stage to graphite.
Converting Graphite
The extracted carbon is heat-treated, and the carbon molecular structure is rearranged in a high-temperature environment to form graphite. When the conversion occurs, the lab staff will move other unwanted inorganic material away.
Diamond Crystallization
The converted graphite will be collected and loaded into a crystallization mold, then placed into a high temperature and pressure process that simulates the formation of a natural diamond. Through this process, the raw diamond comes into the world.
Cutting and Polishing
After the raw diamond comes out, it is cut and polished to form a jewelry-grade diamond. Upon request, the lab artisan uses their skill to cut the diamond into the shape specified by the client, polish it and create a crystal-clear diamond.
There are four main colors of ash diamonds: primary color, white, yellow, and blue. The primary color is the natural color cultivated without changing any elements, yellow is related to the nitrogen content in the ashes, the shade of blue with the size of the ashes containing boron, and white is only the purest carbon left inside the ashes. Because each person's body has different elements, the color shade of the cultivated bone ash diamonds varies.
How Much Does It Cost to Turn Ashes into a Lab-Grown Diamond?
Ash diamond is extracted from a tiny amount of ashes to extract the element of carbon. In nature, a natural diamond going through millions of years to form a diamond will naturally be high. The price of a cremation diamond is higher than a typical man-made diamond and very competitive compared to a typical natural diamond. For example, the Swiss company LONITÉ™ can make a 0.25-carat Naturally Amber™ diamond for $1,400, while making a 3-carat Purely Colourless™ diamond from ashes costs $40,500.
Where Can We Make the Cremation Diamond?
As mentioned above, LONITÉT™ cremation diamonds are laboratory-grown diamonds made from biological samples such as hair and ashes provided by each customer and are the unique crystallization of eternal memories.
LONITÉ™ also has a specialized carbon purification laboratory and diamond cultivation center in Switzerland. With state-of-the-art equipment and technology to extract high-purity carbon from samples.
provided by all the clients and simulate the extreme temperatures, pressures, and other geological conditions required to create diamonds. The only difference between LONITə diamonds from ashes and natural diamonds is that the carbon in natural diamonds comes from the ground. In contrast, the carbon in LONITədiamonds from ashes comes from your lost loved ones, friends, or pets. As the most challenging, eternal, and luxurious substance globally, LONITədiamonds from ashes are unique in all the labs.
The More to Say
Ashes to ashes or dust to diamonds. This new technology is the heartfelt comfort that some technology companies in the modern world offer to grieving families. By extracting carbon from the ashes or hair of their lost loved ones to cultivate lab-grown diamonds, sad people can gaze at the sparkle of the diamonds and remember their departed loved ones—May the love last forever.
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