Diamonds from Human Remains Now a (Pricey) Reality

Business Insider reported that a company called Algordanza is now turning human ashes into diamonds that can be ordered in different cuts and used to make jewelry. However, the process is pricey and fairly lengthy, so don’t expect it to become the norm just yet.

As quoted in the market news:

Since diamonds are made of carbon, and the human body is roughly 18% carbon, it’s possible to transform human ashes into diamonds. Skeletal fragments are the only thing that remains after a human is cremated, and they are ground up and presented to the family in an urn.

Its possible to separate out the carbon from the other elements in the ashes and those carbon atoms can be used to mimic the natural diamond-making process in the lab. These “memorial” diamonds produced by Algordanza have the exact same physical and chemical properties as regular diamonds, according to the Algordanza website.

The cremation of a typical adult produces about five pounds of ashes, and according to the Algordanza website, at least 1.1 pounds of those ashes are required for the process to work.

Click here to read the full Business Insider report.