After cremating a loved one or pet, you may want to keep a part of them with you at all times. You can’t do so with a traditional urn. An urn may remind you of a lost loved one when you’re home, but it’s difficult to take with you when you’re away.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- Breaking Down the Cost of Cremation Diamonds
- What’s the Quote and Buying Process for a Memorial Diamond?
- 4 Tips for Saving Money on a Cremation or Memorial Diamond
- Frequently Asked Questions: Cost of Memorial Diamonds
This is one of many reasons people choose to turn their loved ones and pets’ ashes into memorial diamonds. Many companies can now grow real diamonds by extracting the carbon from ashes. Once the diamond is ready, you can insert it into a piece of jewelry or keepsake.
You might find this idea interesting. However, you might also have questions about the cost of memorial diamonds.
The cost of a memorial diamond can vary depending on which company you order from. This guide will break down some of the more popular options, helping you better understand how much you might spend.
Post-loss tip: If deciding what to do with the ashes is just one of the tasks you're facing for the first time after losing a loved one, our post-loss checklist can help you figure out what to do next. Creating a free online memorial is another great place to start.
Breaking Down the Cost of Cremation Diamonds
Whether you’re turning a loved one’s ashes into a diamond or turning a pet’s ashes into a diamond, you need to know how much memorial diamonds cost to set a realistic budget. These examples will help.
Eterneva
Eterneva is among the most reputable memorial diamond companies. Like virtually all companies offering memorial diamonds, keepsake jewelry, and similar items, their pricing changes based on various factors, such as the carat and color of a diamond.
For instance, the cost of a .10 to .19 carat blue or colorless memorial diamond from Eterneva is $2,999. The cost reaches $50,000 for a 3.00 carat blue or colorless diamond.
LONITÉ
LONITÉ is another memorial diamond company with a good reputation. However, the cost of their memorial diamonds is slightly lower than that of Eterneva.
The minimum cost of a LONITÉ memorial diamond is $1,400 for a .25 carat diamond. The maximum cost is $24,500 for a 2.00 carat diamond.
That’s not to say that Eterneva is necessarily overcharging customers. They add a special touch by engraving your loved one’s name into the diamond once it’s ready. This type of detail may be important enough to you to justify spending a little more.
EverDear
Don’t give up hope if the services above feel too costly for your budget. There are more affordable options.
EverDear is one of them. In fact, EverDear claims it offers some of the lowest-cost memorial diamonds (without sacrificing quality) available.
For instance, the cost of a .10-carat yellow diamond from EverDear is $695. For a .30-carat yellow diamond, the cost is $1,235.
EverDear’s most expensive diamonds, which are colorless or blue and fall within the 2.00 to 2.29-carat range, still only cost $18,200.
LifeGem
LifeGem bills itself as the inventor of the memorial diamond. It’s actually been in business since 2001, so it likely does right by customers.
Its pricing is also relatively standard. For a blue or colorless memorial diamond between .10 and .19 carats, the cost is $2,999. A yellow diamond in that carat range goes for $2,490.
For higher carat ranges, between .90 and .99, LifeGem charges $19,999 for blue or colorless diamonds and $12,999 for yellow diamonds.
Heart-in-Diamond
Heart-in-Diamond is an option worth considering if you want to work with a company that also offers a variety of settings for your diamond, which may be convenient depending on your goals.
Heart-in-Diamond’s pricing is also quite reasonable, with colorless diamonds in the .10 to .19 range costing $2,395. However, Heart-in-Diamond doesn’t offer additional services, such as a Gemologist Institute of America (GIA) certification, by default.
You’ll have to spend more on various services that are already part of the package at other companies.
What’s the Quote and Buying Process for a Memorial Diamond?
The exact process of receiving a quote for a memorial diamond and purchasing it can vary from one company to another. Explore the websites of the options in the section above this one to get a better sense of how you may go about ordering a diamond from one of them.
In general, though, the steps in the process include:
Making essential choices
Most companies offering memorial diamonds will allow you to choose the color, cut, and carat of the diamond you plan to order. They should also provide general pricing guides so you can better understand the final cost of a memorial diamond as you make these choices.
During this stage, you may also decide whether you want your memorial diamond to stand on its own or for the company to insert it into a piece of jewelry.
Once you have completed this stage of the process, you should receive a quote for the final cost of your diamond. You may even receive an exact price.
Receiving an order kit
Once more, the exact details of the process will differ based on which specific company you choose to order a memorial diamond from. That said, after providing essential information about your order and confirming it, you will usually receive an order kit within the next few days or weeks.
Some companies also offer order kits that can acquaint you with ordering a memorial diamond before you decide whether to order from that company or whether you plan to look elsewhere.
This kit will typically come with packaging you can use to send in your loved one’s ashes or hair. It will also feature instructions explaining how to properly seal the packaging. The order kit may also double as a sort of “welcome” kit, explaining how you can track the status of your order or further memorialize your loved one while the company works on completing your diamond.
Tracking your order’s status
The process of creating the diamond itself involves many steps. Most memorial diamond companies will allow you to track the status of your order, so you understand how far along in the process your diamond is.
During this in-between phase, you may have the option to take advantage of other features a company offers. For example, some companies will offer videos you can watch to see in detail what the process of creating your memorial diamond may involve. Again, other companies also let you create memorial pages celebrating the deceased's life as you await the delivery of your diamond.
4 Tips for Saving Money on a Cremation or Memorial Diamond
Between the general cremation costs and all other expenses you may incur after a loved one’s death, you might still feel you can’t afford to purchase a memorial diamond based on what you’ve just learned.
However, there are a few ways to save money on memorial diamonds. Consider the following tips.
Shop around
It’s a simple tip, but an important one. While this guide has hopefully given you some ideas regarding which company you might order a memorial diamond from, it’s still smart to thoroughly research your options.
You want to find a company with a positive reputation whose services you can afford.
Ask about deals and discounts
It never hurts to reach out to a company from whom you might order a memorial diamond to ask about discounts. Sometimes companies are happy to work with customers who may be on a tight budget.
For example, some companies offer discounts for family plans or bulk orders. You might be able to save money with this type of discount if you’re ordering memorial diamonds for multiple loved ones.
Pay over time
This tip may not technically help you save money, as it ultimately won’t reduce the cost of your memorial diamond, but it’s worth keeping in mind if you can’t afford to pay the full price all at once.
Many memorial diamond companies let customers pay over time. Paying for a memorial diamond over the course of a few months may be much more feasible for you.
Consider other options
You might want to turn your loved one’s ashes into a memorial diamond because you like the idea of being able to keep them with you wherever you go in the form of jewelry or a keepsake.
If that’s the case, you should know that memorial diamonds aren’t your only option. You can also turn ashes into glass jewelry, or you can store them in small keepsake or jewelry urns.
Doing so serves the same purpose of turning ashes into a memorial diamond (assuming your main priority is being able to keep a piece of a loved one near you at all times) at a much lower cost.
Frequently Asked Questions: Cost of Memorial Diamonds
Do you have additional questions about the cost of cremation diamonds? Keep reading if so. The following points may offer the information you’re looking for.
Are cremation gems cheaper than cremation diamonds?
Typically, yes. In the same way semi-precious gemstones tend to be less expensive than actual diamonds, a cremation gemstone is a more affordable option to consider if the idea of turning a loved one’s ashes into a piece of jewelry or other such item appeals to you, but you can’t justify the cost of a diamond.
Are cremation diamonds valuable or resellable?
It’s theoretically possible to resell a cremation diamond. If you order from a reputable company, the finished product will be a genuine diamond. Therefore, you could potentially find a buyer.
That said, someone buying a diamond from you would likely want to know its origins. Suppose you answer their questions and let them know the diamond you’re selling is a cremation diamond that consists of the remains of a loved one. In that case, a potential buyer may no longer feel comfortable purchasing.
Perhaps more importantly, you might not feel comfortable selling a cremation diamond unless you need the money. This is a highly sentimental item. It’s unlikely you’d care to part with it unless you have no choice. Consider this decision carefully before selling a memorial diamond is the right choice.
How do you get an exact price for a diamond?
Again, getting a quote for a cremation diamond can vary from one company to another. Getting an actual price for a memorial diamond will also vary depending on the company you choose to work with.
That said, most reputable companies that create memorial diamonds from ashes or hair usually have thorough guides on their websites. The guides will explain how much you should expect to pay for a diamond based on such factors as carat, cut, and color.
Once you've contacted a particular company and provided all the necessary information about the type of diamond you want and other specifications, they should supply you with a specific price. Be wary of companies that won't tell you precisely what you will pay for your diamond until the process of creating it is over. A company worth ordering from values transparency.
Memorial Diamond Costs: Budgeting for a Memory
It’s important to keep in mind that this article is merely a brief overview of how much memorial diamonds cost.
If you’re considering buying one, you should research these companies (and perhaps others) more thoroughly to find out what you’d pay for a diamond of the specific carat, cut, and color of your choice.
If you're looking for more cremation jewelry ideas, read our guides on urn rings and creative urns. And for something very unique (think a game, their motorcycle, or instrument of choice), you can custom order an urn from a store like Foreverence. You submit a design idea or sketch, then the company designs and 3D prints your urn, so you get a 100% unique container.