After a loved one or pet’s death, you might wish to keep them with you in some way. Memorial jewelry and keepsakes allow you to. For instance, we now have the technology to create diamonds that contain a genuine part of someone who’s passed on. When added to a keepsake or piece of jewelry, this type of diamond allows you to always keep someone you’ve lost close throughout life.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- Can You Make Diamonds From Hair?
- How Much Do Diamonds Made From Pet or Human Hair Cost?
- How Do Jewelers Turn Hair Into Diamonds?
- What Companies Turn Locks of Hair Into Diamonds?
Naturally, you may wonder how it’s possible to turn part of a lost loved one or pet into a diamond. One process involves turning cremated ashes into diamonds or crystals. However, not everyone chooses to cremate a person after death.
Luckily, there’s another option. If you keep several locks of someone’s hair after death, you can also use them to create a memorial diamond.
Can You Make Diamonds from Hair?
The idea of hair diamonds may sound strange to you. That’s understandable. If you’re not familiar with the process, it makes sense that you’d be skeptical of the idea that it’s genuinely possible to transform locks of human hair into something as wildly different as a diamond. However, it actually is possible thanks to the way diamonds form.
Diamonds begin as carbon atoms. If those atoms remain exposed to extremely high temperatures and a certain degree of pressure over a long enough period of time, they will form diamonds.
Interestingly, human and animal hair contains carbon. That means we can now create diamonds from hair using specialized technology to extract the carbon. The result of the process (which this blog will explain in greater detail later) is a diamond that looks and serves the same purpose as any other. You could simply keep it safe in a special place or add it to a piece of memorial jewelry or keepsake.
An important point
It’s worth noting that a person or pet doesn’t need to be deceased for you to turn their hair into a diamond. Some people might want to create jewelry from the hair of someone who’s still alive.
For example, maybe you and your partner or spouse believe it would be romantic to wear matching rings featuring diamonds made from each other’s hair. While most companies that turn hair into diamonds typically focus on serving those making memorial diamonds for lost loved ones, they’d likely be willing to create diamonds for you as well.
How Much Do Diamonds Made from Pet or Human Hair Cost?
The cost of a hair diamond will depend on the carat and color. Other factors, such as the vendor you choose to buy a diamond from, can also play a role.
For instance, one company charges $2,999 for a 0.1-carat diamond that’s blue, colorless, or yellow, while another charges $695 for a 0.1-carat yellow diamond and $1,295 for a 0.1-carat blue or colorless diamond. Those are the lowest prices at both companies.
If you’re considering turning a loved one or pet’s hair into a diamond, you may need to do some research to find a company that offers this service in your price range. Just keep in mind the importance of looking into a company’s reputation as well. Do your best to find thorough reviews from former customers for each vendor you consider. You don’t want to spend more than you can afford but you also don’t want to buy a diamond from a company that offers inferior service or products.
How Do Jewelers Turn Hair into Diamonds?
The process of making hair diamonds can vary somewhat from one company to another, but in general, it involves the following steps:
- Collection: A vendor that creates diamonds from hair will provide instructions regarding how much hair to send and how to package it. They’ll also work with a customer to determine the carat, color, and cut of the finished diamond.
- Carbon extraction: Once the vendor has enough of a loved one’s hair, it needs to extract carbon from it. After extracting the carbon, they convert it into graphite.
- Heating: Exposing the graphite with a diamond seed to extremely high temperatures and pressure transforms it into a diamond over the course of several weeks.
- Completion: Once the diamond has formed, a jeweler will cut it according to a customer’s specifications. Many companies also perform various tests to ensure the diamond meets certain standards of quality and purity.
What Companies Turn Locks of Hair into Diamonds?
Several companies offer memorial jewelry and lock of hair keepsakes. The following are just a few options to consider, but remember, it’s always smart to do your own extra research before choosing a company.
Eterneva
Like many companies that make diamonds from hair, Eterneva also makes diamonds from ashes. If you’ve already cremated a loved one, but now wish you could create a memorial diamond, you still have that option if you’ve kept their ashes. Additionally, Eterneva also creates diamonds made from human hair or pet hair.
Eterneva is an option worth considering if you want to buy a diamond from an established company that will walk you through all the essential steps of the process. When you first reach out to the company to place an order, it’ll send a welcome kit. This welcome kit includes a video explaining the process and introducing the team, a booklet with instructions for your role in the process, a few cubic zirconias so you can compare the size of different carats, and a special container for sending your ashes or hair.
A team member will reach out directly as well. This person can answer your questions but will also ask you questions of their own to ensure you select the ideal diamond cut, carat, and color.
Eterneva will keep you updated throughout the process of growing your diamond. As you wait for the diamond, you also have the option of creating a special memorial page for your loved one. You can choose to add your story to their social pages as well.
This degree of individualized service does affect Eterneva’s pricing somewhat. The company is not the most affordable option on this list but works hard to satisfy every customer. That type of service may justify the cost for you.
EverDear
EverDear is an option to consider if you’re on a tight budget. Prices are significantly lower than Eterneva’s. In fact, the company claims its pricing is the most affordable on the market. EverDear delivers a premium diamond with GIA certification as well.
Because EverDear’s services cost less than others, its process doesn’t involve as much personal attention, but it’ll still provide essential information and updates.
ALGORDANZA
ALGORDANZA offers Swiss-made diamonds made from hair or ashes. The company has attracted a lot of media attention and is one of the more established names in the market.
ALGORDANZA also partners with funeral homes all throughout the world. Through its website, you can find a local partner. Ordering your diamond through a funeral home that has a direct relationship with the company may help you feel even more confident in the process.
That’s not to say you won’t be involved. Before placing an order, you’ll get the chance to make key choices about the carat and color of your diamond. ALGORDANZA will conference with you at its office, over the phone, at the funeral home of one of its partners, in your own home, or through video conference. That type of convenience might be very important to you.
Because Algordanza offers strong service and a range of product types, buying from the company will also cost you more than you might spend if you choose a different vendor. For example, a fully cut 0.25 carat diamond costs $3,799. That’s the lowest price and carat Algordanza offers for a cut diamond.
LONITÉ
LONITÉ offers fairly mid-range prices for memorial hair diamonds. For instance, LONITÉ’s price for a 0.25 carat diamond is $1,400.
This pricing reflects its service and products. As with any company on this list, the company ensures that you understand the process, but doesn’t necessarily offer the same attention you’d get from the team at Eterneva or ALGORDANZA.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t consider ordering from LONITÉ. It makes up for that minor limitation by offering diamonds in a wide range of sizes, cuts, and colors. You also have the option to have your diamond GIA-certified for authenticity. Because GIA is an independent diamond evaluator, you won’t have to take LONITÉ’s word for it.
LONITÉ also offers a unique option that you may find appealing. When your diamond is ready, you can ask that they laser-inscribe a name or initials into it. This adds an extra layer of personalization to what is already a very personal and unique item.
Also, while LONITÉ may not completely measure up to Eterneva and Algordanza in terms of convenience and direct involvement in the process, the company does provide you with regular pictures letting you see your diamond take shape. The company offers ID-tracking services as well.
Hair Diamonds: A Unique Way to Remember a Loved One
A piece of keepsake jewelry can’t bring a lost loved one or pet back, but it can offer some comfort during times when you miss that person or pet’s presence in your life. If that sounds like something you’d appreciate, consider turning their hair into a diamond.
Sources
- “Diamond Pricing.” Eterneva, Eterneva, eterneva.com/memorial-diamond-cost
- “Immortalising a loved one by turning hair into a diamond?” YouTube (eNCA channel), eMedia Holdings, 19 August 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArDpXx1FjhQ
- Lineberry, Cate. “Diamonds Unearthed.” Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian Institution, December 2006, www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/diamonds-unearthed-141629226/
- “Same Price, Bigger Diamond.” EverDear, EverDear, everdear.co/cremation-diamonds-from-ashes/turning-ashes-into-diamonds-cost/