If you’ve recently lost your pet, you might be wondering how to honor and treasure your memories of them. There are numerous ways to keep your furry best friend around including preserving your pet, cremation, or by turning the cremation ashes into diamonds to wear forever.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- What are Pet Memorial Diamonds?
- How Much Do Pet Memorial Diamonds Usually Cost?
- What’s the Process of Turning Pet Ashes Into Memorial Diamonds?
Turning pet ashes into diamonds is a fairly new concept but thanks to science and some good old-fashioned ingenuity from pet lovers, you can now have your pet's remains turned into a touching memorial you can keep close by every day.
Tip: If a diamond is a bit too flashy for your taste, you might consider turning your pet's ashes into cremation stones with Parting Stone, instead.
What are Pet Memorial Diamonds?
Memorial diamonds have been around for a while, all thanks to the science that succeeded in making diamonds in the lab. The process involves cremating the body of your pet, and then sending the cremains to a special company that turns the ashes into a beautiful, glittering memorial and tribute to a beloved part of your family.
The first step in the process is cremation. Cremation is a process through which your pet is placed into a cremation chamber. Through the process of intense heat, the remains will be turned into ashes. These ashes, or cremains, can be placed into a special urn or made into something beautiful such as cremation jewelry or memorial diamonds.
Most of the companies, like Eterneva, provide this service need less than 100 grams of your pet’s ashes making it possible to turn the ashes into diamonds and preserve ashes to keep in an urn, as well.
When you lose the company of your beloved pet but you still want it to keep them close, pet memorial diamonds are one of the best ways to keep them near your heart and carry them with you through life.
If you prefer other options, many of the companies that turn pet ashes into diamonds also provide services to create other types of cremation jewelry so you can incorporate pet diamonds into rings, earrings, necklaces, or another jewelry option of your choice.
How Much Do Pet Memorial Diamonds Usually Cost?
When considering the total cost of pet memorial diamonds, you may want to find out first how much it costs to cremate your beloved pet.
Cremation
When it comes to cremation alone, minus any extra fees such as delivery, rush orders, and urns, the price typically averages out at around $150 on average for a private cremation company.
If you want to save money on the cremation process, you can usually ask your family vet to perform the cremation process and you may spend an average of $70 per pet.
Diamond making
Once your pet is cremated, you can take some of the ashes and turn them into memorial diamonds. Depending on the company you choose, pet memorial diamonds can start around $695 for a tenth of a carat diamond.
The larger your diamond, the more expensive the price will be. Some companies, like Eterneva, place their starting prices at $3,000 for a tenth of a carat. Depending on what jewelry setting you desire, how large of a diamond you want, and the company you choose, you could even find yourself paying up to $18,000-19,000 for your memorial jewelry. One company even offers a three-carat diamond for fifty thousand.
Other factors that are included in the pricing are the following:
- Shape
- Color
- Clarity
- Style
- Fitting
- Number of Diamonds
If you want the gems incorporated into pieces of jewelry, you might be charged a separate cost for both the jewelry and the fitting.
If you only want the diamond itself, then you can expect the total cost to include the growing, cutting, and polishing costs of the diamonds. Most companies will ship the finished diamond for free to the family.
What’s the Process of Turning Pet Ashes Into Memorial Diamonds?
The process of turning ashes into memorial diamonds follow several steps.
Cremation
In order to have ashes to turn into diamonds, you need to first have your pet cremated. The process of cremation has been gaining in popularity in the west because it not only allows family members the ability to keep the remains of a beloved pet close, but it can also save money. Average pet burial plots range anywhere from $300 to $500 and provide a place for you to go visit your pet.
During the cremation process, the body of your pet is placed into a cremation chamber. Here, it is placed through a heating process at temperatures around 1400 to 1800 degrees Fahrenheit, leaving behind what are called ashes.
You can have the pet cremation process completed either through your vet or through a private company such as an animal crematorium. The cost of pet cremation varies depending on your choice of cremation provider and cost for individual pet cremation as opposed to collective cremation.
While collective cremation is cheaper, you will not receive your pet’s ashes back because it is cremated with other animals. Individual pet cremation allows you to receive the ashes of your furry friend back. You can then choose to place them in a special urn.
Send the ashes
Most pet memorial diamond companies send interested pet owners with a kit that comes with instructions about the process and pricing options.
The only step in the process that requires the pet owner’s involvement is mailing the company an appropriate amount of ashes or pet hair required to create your diamond of choice. After the company receives your pet’s ashes, they can begin the process of diamond creation.
Purification process
Once the company receives your pet’s ashes, they will begin to transform them into diamonds. The first step of the process after the ashes are shipped to the company is carbon separation.
Carbon is the building block of diamonds and this is the element taken from your pet’s ashes. This purification process takes some time until the carbon is completely extracted in the form of black graphite powder.
Diamond formation
Next up is the actual diamond formation. Each company utilizes state-of-the-art machines that replicate the extreme conditions of high temperature and pressure needed for diamond formation. The carbon from the ashes is combined with a special metal alloy and a small diamond seed to initiate crystallization.
After the raw diamond is formed, it is taken out for quality analysis by experts. The quality experts verify that the raw diamond has properly formed into the shape and size specified by the owner. After verification, the raw diamond is sent for cutting where the diamond is given its finishing touches.
Coloration and grading
The final stage of the process involves options like coloration where the diamond is given a specific color of choice with the use of natural elements. Black diamonds usually take the longest amount of time to fully colorize.
Once complete, the diamonds are analyzed by independent agencies that verify its authenticity. They will also grade the diamond according to quality, cut, color, clarity, and polish. Some companies offer the option of having your diamond certified by the Gemnological Institute of America.
Engraving and setting
If desired, you can add on an optional engraving service and have the name of your pet or a word or two laser engraved onto the diamond.
At this stage, your diamond will be placed within the setting of the jewelry you chose such as a ring or necklace. Once this step is complete, the company will ship the diamond or the completed jewelry piece to your door.
Discounts
Unless you are obliged by some sort of religious beliefs that mandate burial of loved ones and animals, memorial diamonds are a wonderful option to keep them close and remember them forever.
If you and your significant other or another family member would also like a diamond, most companies offer discounts for multiple purchases. This is ideal when needing to purchase two, three, or even four memorial diamonds.
Burying your pet can be difficult since you and your loved ones may not always be able to visit at your pet’s graveside. On the other hand, you and your family can have the ashes of your furry friend with you in your home and then you can take the memorial diamond with you no matter where you are.
This can be especially meaningful for a child who has to go away to college or move to another state and doesn’t want to leave the memory of their favorite childhood pet behind.
A Forever Remembrance
If you recently lost a pet and you are wondering how best to keep them close and remember them forever, pet memorial diamonds might be the answer. There is a reason people say “diamonds are forever.”
Another option, if diamonds don't seem like the best fit for you, is to consider a custom urn. Foreverence specializes in custom urns created to reflect your pet's unique memory, whether you choose one shaped like a bone, a favorite toy, or their likeness. It's all about capturing what made your dog special.
Pet memorial diamonds have the ability to capture the memory and essence of your family member and transform into a forever remembrance to take with you and wear each day.
Sources
- Etereva Writers. “Remarkable Pets.” Pets, Eterneva, 2020. eterneva.com/pets
- EverDear Writers. “Cremation Diamonds for Pets.” Pets, EverDear, 2020. everdear.co/cremation-diamonds-for-pets/
- Lonite Writers. “Pets’ Ashes Into Diamonds.” Pets Memorials, Lonite, 2020. lonite.com/pets-cremation-ashes-into-diamonds/
- LifeGem Writers. “LifeGem for Pets.” Pet LifeGems, LifeGem, 2020. lifegem.com/LifeGemForPets.php