Swiss company can turn ashes of loved ones into sparkling mementos
CHUR (Switzerland) — At the end of their days, many people end up buried, in flames, frozen, or mummified. But, some lucky ones are spending eternity as sparkling diamonds, thanks to a peculiar chemical transformation.
For a fee, a Swiss company called Algordanza offers a service to turn ashes into precious stones. It gets 40 to 50 commissions a month, some from as far away as Japan. One came from secretary Lilly Hess-Sollberger, who saw an article about the service and made her daughter promise to call Algordanza when she died. Ms Hess-Sollberger died three years ago at age 82 and her ashes are now a half-carat blue diamond pendant that adorns her daughter's neck.
Mr Rinaldo Willy, 28, one of two co-founders of Algordanza, said the commissions come from "all kinds of people — from bus drivers to :philosophy professors".
At the firm’s laboratory, about 15 machines run non-stop alongside employees wearing plastic protective glasses who work behind a yellow-and-black line that visitors are not allowed to cross out of respect for the dead.
"Five hundred grammes of ashes is enough to make a diamond, and a human body leaves behind on average 2.5 to 3kg of ashes," said Mr Willy.
Potassium and calcium — 85 per cent of the ashes — are first separated from the carbon. The carbon is then subjected to high pressure and heat, a process which compresses it into graphite. More pressure and heat are applied to the graphite to turn it into diamonds.
The entire process takes six to eight weeks, barely a fraction of the time it takes for the formation of natural diamonds, which takes thousands of years. When the process is complete, the crude diamond still requires polishing and cutting. Many are cut into heart-shaped stones which can be worn as a pendant, or mounted on a ring.
"Each diamond is unique — the colour varies from dark blue to almost white," said Mr Willy. "It’s a reflection of the personality." The whole process costs between 4,500 ($5,946) and 17,000 Swiss francs, depending on the weight of the resulting stone (from 0.25 to 1 carat), and does not include the setting of the stone.
for one crazy moment, it actually crossed my mind... what an interesting idea this is... *ponders*
Until i read on...
Not all agree with the process. An undertaker in Geneva said he has never received a request to transform ashes into a "life gem", as some call the stones, and has no plans to offer the service. "It’s not in line with our ethics of burial and remembrance," he said. "To wear your loved one as a ring and carry it with you everywhere prevents you from distancing yourself, and thereby recovering from, the loss." AFP
