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Every time she looks into the ring on her finger, Ms. Pilon sees Meowy, her late beloved silver cat. Meowy really is there: The ring's two diamonds were made from her cremated remains.
"It's a little eccentric—not something everyone would do," says Ms. Pilon, a biotech sales representative in Boston, whose cat passed away last year. "It's a way for me to remember my cat, and have her with me all the time."..
Some gems start at about $250, while pet diamonds cost at least $1,400, with prices based on color and size. The diamonds have the same physical properties as mined diamonds, purveyors say.
LifeGem, an Elk Grove Village, Ill., company, says it has made more than 1,000 animal diamonds in the past decade, mostly from dogs and cats but also a few birds, rabbits, horses and one armadillo...
A spokesman for the Gemological Institute of America declined to comment on specific companies or processes, but said that synthetic diamonds, like naturally occurring ones, are made of carbon. "That carbon could come from the remains of a deceased pet," he said.Additional information and commentary at The Wall Streeet Journal.
Producing a one-carat diamond requires less than a cup of ashes or unpacked hair. Sometimes, companies add outside carbon if there isn't enough.
Photo credits: Natalie Pilon (top) and Brynmore Williams (below)
The diamonds have the same physical properties as mined diamonds, purveyors say.
ReplyDeleteWell, that is a very selective statement. Yes, artificial diamonds have the same properties are low-end mined diamonds. Artificial diamonds have more dislocations and imperfections than mined diamonds. That's because you just can't fake an underground process that takes thousands of years in a matter of days with some pressure and heat.
Nevertheless, they are diamonds.
I wonder if they would do people... might be nice to end up as something shiny...
ReplyDelete