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Elainehali
December 18th, 2009, 06:02 PM
Apparently they can make a diamond out of carbon from a persons hair.

creepy or charming? I'll say charming.:p

http://www.heart-in-diamond.co.uk/index.html

jesamyn
December 18th, 2009, 06:07 PM
I agree with charming. I think it's a lovely idea, although I'm not really into diamonds myself.

BranwenWolf
December 18th, 2009, 06:07 PM
I'm a jewelry maker and I would prefer that over an urn of ashes... I'd put the stone in a nice setting to think of that person.
Very interesting.

Dars
December 18th, 2009, 06:08 PM
Eh, no thanks...

Sissy
December 18th, 2009, 06:10 PM
I suppose that's kind of nice for a person to have as an option if they want it. I get too emotional even thinking about my babies not being around someday. It's a shame that dogs cannot live as long as we do. Of course for the many dogs who unfortunately live a life of suffering I suppose it's a blessing.

Fractalsofhair
December 18th, 2009, 06:10 PM
That's actually a really good idea for a wedding ring. I'm not sure how I'd feel about it for a ring after someone died, but I think it would be really romantic to have a wedding ring made out of my hair and my partners.

jesamyn
December 18th, 2009, 06:12 PM
Oooh, what a neat idea, Fractals!

JenniferNoel
December 18th, 2009, 06:34 PM
I think it's a very beautiful and charming idea, especially for a wedding ring. Pretty neat, I must say.

Gypsy
December 18th, 2009, 07:15 PM
Not just hair, they can use the ashes, too.
I remember hearing this a few years ago and the general reactions were the same as on this thread, they either like it or are creeped out, lol!
I'm in the "creeped" category, ha ha!

teela1978
December 18th, 2009, 07:19 PM
The hair is kinda neat... having grandma turned into a diamond kinda creeps me out though...

missjessiecakes
December 18th, 2009, 07:25 PM
OH THAT WOULD BE SO AWESOME.


If you click through the website it doesnt have to be a memorial they do baby hair too and for weddings and anniversaries.

Jeni
December 18th, 2009, 07:44 PM
I like the idea. My mother wants to be cremated and I could totally see myself taking some of her ashes and making her into a ring I could carry with me (easier then a urn... ;) ). It has the added benefit of making me giggle because my mother is so NOT a jewelry person...I think I will have to tell her I plan to turn her into jewelry!

I wish they came in other colors though.

orbiting
December 18th, 2009, 08:13 PM
In the US it's called Life Gems - They don't use hair, just cremated remains.

I personally think it's cool. My father cannot be cremated (religious thing), but my mom wants to be, so I told her I'm turning her into a diamond ring ;) She wasn't creeped out, she actually said she liked the idea (she loves jewelry, maybe that's it).

I personally like the idea.

Katurday
December 18th, 2009, 08:52 PM
I don't like the idea.
I'm a very "came from the earth, go back to the earth"
kind of person. Turning someone into something other than
wormfood or ashes is just too much for me and the natural
balance of things. My biggest gems will be the memories
I shared with the person.

It just feels like they're trying to cash in on people's mourning.

Qamar
December 18th, 2009, 09:39 PM
I would actually LOVE to have a wedding ring with a diamond made from my hair and Les's hair. IT would be incredibly romantic.

GlassEyes
December 18th, 2009, 09:46 PM
I'll admit, I'm not horrified by the idea, save for thinking about my mother's death. It never fails to impress upon me her mortality and the sadness therein--especially because she INSISTS on continuing to smoke. ARGH. :justy: She freaking thinks she's immortal.

Okay, that was a tangent and a half.

I also agree that the hair thing is a sweet idea. I wonder how much they'd need.

Pierre
December 18th, 2009, 10:27 PM
Up to two grams. My rat is eight grams.

When I saw the website title, I thought "Club spade?".

Quixii
December 18th, 2009, 10:36 PM
I think it's really cute, but I don't know I like that it's out of a dead person. I much prefer the idea of a lock of, say, my fiancé's hair turned into the engagement/wedding/just because ring than if it were his ashes after he died. D:
Though I still wouldn't put myself in the creeped out category. I would just prefer it as a reminder of the living than of the dead.

Aditi
December 18th, 2009, 11:41 PM
I found it a very nice gesture :)

Gypsy
December 18th, 2009, 11:59 PM
I'll admit, I'm not horrified by the idea, save for thinking about my mother's death. It never fails to impress upon me her mortality and the sadness therein--especially because she INSISTS on continuing to smoke. ARGH. :justy: She freaking thinks she's immortal.

Okay, that was a tangent and a half.

I also agree that the hair thing is a sweet idea. I wonder how much they'd need.

I feel for ya.
My mom started smoking after my dad died, having quit nearly 25 years earlier.:( After seeing her mother and grandmother have several strokes, aortal aneurysms and such..
I try and make my point by asking her if her life insurance is currant, but I think she figures that since her mom and grandmother didn't actually DIE directly from those problems, that means it's safe. Forget the fact that their quality of life was significantly compromised....

Cherry_Sprinkle
December 18th, 2009, 11:59 PM
I actually like the idea.. I also am a huge lover of my pets and they are just as much a part of my family as my husband and my mum.. i'd love to have a ring I can wear and look down at and remember my lost loved ones.. my husband says "I dont care what you do with me when I die, I won't even be there" lol my grandmother jokes all the time she will do it if my grandfather goes before her.. she says she wants a 3ct diamond from his ashes :lol:

It doesn't creep me out at all, but then I think victorian mourning jewelry is pretty.

HisForever
December 19th, 2009, 12:08 AM
It's a neat idea, but it kind of creeps me out

Elistariel
December 19th, 2009, 12:15 AM
I like the idea of an engagement / wedding ring.

A Fido-diamond, however, not so much.

SHELIAANN1969
December 19th, 2009, 06:08 AM
Wow, how cool! I would love to have known this before my mom was buried, if I could have cut some of her hair and made a stone, I would have cherished it for the rest of my own days.

I don't find it creepy or weird or anything negative, I think it's cool that modern technology has come so far that we can make diamonds/stones out of hair and ashes!

I am impressed.

Sammich
December 19th, 2009, 06:24 AM
Haha! That's a really really good idea. I'm thinking of doing that for my future. I mean, not me being turned into a diamond ring. (Well maybe.... I'd like the idea but-)
Anywho! I'd love to have a wedding ring like that, but I'm a bit scared of my hair being taken... TOO PRECIOUS! MINE.

morguebabe
December 19th, 2009, 08:09 AM
I didn't read the whole thread but you can do it with a loved ones or loved pets ashes as well. I plan to turn my mom and dad into one. And I plan to turn my cat Mozart into one.

Pixna
December 19th, 2009, 11:35 AM
Wow, I never heard of this! I think it's really cool and sweet -- not creepy at all.

LoversLullaby
December 19th, 2009, 01:07 PM
That's pretty cool that they can do that. I say it's pretty charming.

squiggyflop
December 19th, 2009, 02:07 PM
i dont mind a lock of hair becoming a diamond but the funeral ashes thing creeps me out

KatKeRo
December 19th, 2009, 02:21 PM
i dont mind a lock of hair becoming a diamond but the funeral ashes thing creeps me out

Same here.

lora410
December 19th, 2009, 02:25 PM
I think this is a great idea :) If I still had my dads ashes or hair I would do it.

enfys
December 19th, 2009, 02:26 PM
It's take them a while to get 2g of hair from us wouldn't it!

I like the idea and I like even more that they can be made from just hair; I'm so saving DH's hair from tomorrow. My eternity ring can be made from him.

All I'd be concerned about is attaching too much to the ring. If you got mugged or lost it, would it be harder to live with knowing it was actually that person? Sorry Nana, I flushed you down the toilet...

eresh
December 19th, 2009, 02:41 PM
I would do this with hair, but not with ashes I think.
I wonder if there is a place in the Netherlands that does this type of thing....

Pierre
December 19th, 2009, 09:07 PM
I'm with several of you. I'd get a pair of rings made of my and my girl's hair (if I had a girl and the money), but I wouldn't get one made from the dead.

Shouldn't be too hard, Eresh, you're a lot closer than I am!

Jeni
December 20th, 2009, 12:12 AM
enfys- well if you make the diamond out of ashes if you lost it/had it stolen you could always send them more...One made of hair would be slightly more of an issue unless you happened to collect a lot of hair.

You know I have also heard of people having their dead relatives' ashes (I assume not all of them) added to fireworks (if they really liked fireworks) and tattoo ink (permanent part of you)...

A ring made from ashes doesn't sound nearly as creepy (to me anyway) as tattooing yourself with ink made from the ashes!

Crysta
December 20th, 2009, 06:04 AM
I'd go for an engagement ring made from your partners hair. I think that's prety sweet.

Neoma
December 20th, 2009, 09:30 AM
I love this idea -- both the hair and the remains. BTW, they can make colored gemstones from this process. I keep telling DH that I'm going to turn him into an emerald when he's gone.

BlackfootHair
December 20th, 2009, 10:08 AM
Too bad they need 2 grams. I don't think I have two grams to give. I have a jacket that belonged to my mom, and her hair shed in the hood. But I'm pretty sure it's not two grams. :( I suppose I could throw in some of my hair...but.....that would be a little off the point.

BlackfootHair
December 20th, 2009, 10:17 AM
In the US it's called Life Gems - They don't use hair, just cremated remains.


I went to their website, and it does say they can do it with a lock of hair. :)

Honestwitness
December 20th, 2009, 10:49 AM
So, what are the chances that some greedy villains might start harvesting human hair for diamond production? Maybe our long hair would make us more of a target? Now THAT creeps me out!!!

I would assume it must be cheaper to produce a man-made diamond that a mined one. Otherwise why would anyone even think of making diamonds from carbon? Of course, I guess carbon is a pretty readily available substance, isn't it? Where do they get the carbon they already use to produce man-made diamonds?

Kimberly
December 20th, 2009, 12:12 PM
I have some little snippets of fur from my beloved pets going back to my first one when I was a kid -- found some stuck to me after my first pet died and couldn't bear to throw it away. And then his best-friend dog died, so I put their fur together, and from there it's just a way I remember them. But I won't make diamonds out of their fur. I'm holding out for cloning. Not for real, because I know they wouldn't be the same, but the idea of it comforts me somehow.

GlassEyes
December 20th, 2009, 12:37 PM
So, what are the chances that some greedy villains might start harvesting human hair for diamond production? Maybe our long hair would make us more of a target? Now THAT creeps me out!!!

I would assume it must be cheaper to produce a man-made diamond that a mined one. Otherwise why would anyone even think of making diamonds from carbon? Of course, I guess carbon is a pretty readily available substance, isn't it? Where do they get the carbon they already use to produce man-made diamonds?
Ooooh, that's a cool idea. Mind if I scribble it down for later use? ;)

All (partial) joking aside, all diamonds are made from carbon anyway, and my guess is that they could use almost anything organic, just like with real diamonds. Decayed/burned plants, excrement (I think it contains carbon), etc. etc.

enfys
December 20th, 2009, 12:38 PM
Carbon is in pretty much every living thing isn't it? Like, plants or coal even could be turned into diamonds with that snazzy equipment.

I told DH and he liked the idea. Now if only they had a pricelist up. I'm going to get some very accurate scales for weighing silver anyway so I can use them to get my 2g.

enfys
December 20th, 2009, 12:39 PM
Ooooh, that's a cool idea. Mind if I scribble it down for later use? ;)

All (partial) joking aside, all diamonds are made from carbon anyway, and my guess is that they could use almost anything organic, just like with real diamonds. Decayed/burned plants, excrement (I think it contains carbon), etc. etc.

I'm so glad my only diamond is an unethically (I expect) mined one, not man-made. Therefore made from dinosaur poo probably.

BlackfootHair
December 20th, 2009, 12:46 PM
The US site has prices...not that really helps you in the UK...

http://www.lifegem.com/secondary/LGPrices2006.aspx

From what I hear, man made diamonds command just as much of a price tag as the real thing. Perhaps because of all the electricity used? lol :)

enfys
December 20th, 2009, 01:05 PM
Ooh it translated into prices in £s. Really high prices in £s.

Actually, I could look into just getting the diamond. I mean, having learnt silversmithing it'd be a terrible shame not to use that to make a ring...some of that price is bound to be the setting.

Oh pants. It's not. I'd say they were actually dearer than real diamonds then.

Jeni
December 20th, 2009, 02:31 PM
Yea the prices aren't cheap and there is a limit on what colors, sizes and shapes they can make (varies between different companies). I've informed my mother she need to leave me a nice inheritances when she dies so that I can make her into a 2ct diamond ring.... :)

*Aoife*
December 20th, 2009, 02:53 PM
I love one of the rings they have on the site. I like the idea of hair being made into diamonds. But the thought of my grandparents being made into diamonds kinda freaks me out.

KatKeRo
December 20th, 2009, 02:55 PM
I don't mind having one made of hair but the ashes creeps me out.

Runzel
December 20th, 2009, 03:02 PM
The weird thing about this is that if I had a diamond made out of hair or someone's ashes, I would feel the urge to mention it if/when someone commented on that piece of jewelry. And that would be just strange....lots of people would be grossed out and then I'd be known as that person with the creepy diamond. :rolleyes:

On a more positive note, at least you know for certain that the diamond was obtained ethically.

If anyone wants to do more research on this I think they're more commonly known as "Memorial Diamonds" due to the whole ashes thing. It'd be interesting if someone directed that their ashes be disposed of in that way. I can see it in the will now..."I would like to be made into diamonds after I die..." :lol:

Jeni
December 20th, 2009, 03:44 PM
You could aways just say "Its from my mother...."

Kimberly
December 21st, 2009, 02:06 PM
haha Jeni! :)

Jeni
December 21st, 2009, 04:03 PM
Thank you Thank you, I'll be here all night!

teela1978
December 25th, 2009, 11:37 PM
Ooh it translated into prices in £s. Really high prices in £s.

Actually, I could look into just getting the diamond. I mean, having learnt silversmithing it'd be a terrible shame not to use that to make a ring...some of that price is bound to be the setting.

Oh pants. It's not. I'd say they were actually dearer than real diamonds then.

I'm guessing that using organic stuff (hair and ashes are not pure carbon) requires quite a bit of processing before you can get to the 'making a diamond' process. That probably raises the price significantly (and I would imagine they're the only folks doing this in the country).

I'm guessing that it's quite a bit less than a burial plot though... even just for ashes in some places.

Mannaz
December 26th, 2009, 09:08 AM
Wow, I think it's kind of beautiful, also from a symbolic point of view; as I see it, death concerns only the body, not the soul. After death the body goes through a final transformation and this is a way to take that transformation even further, diamonds are forever, and so is the soul, so the diamond reminds us of the most important part of the person we love is forever there.

That got a little poetic :o, don't know if that makes sense to anyone else, but that's the feeling that struck me.