From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia LifeGem
LifeGem
LifeGem ual.[5] Diamonds made from the remains of pets are
priced the same as those made from human remains, but
the size of the animal may be a limiting factor. As of
March 2005, LifeGem said it had served 1,000 customers
since the company’s founding.
Type Private The process
Industry Diamonds The carbon from the remains is converted to graphite af-
ter purification,[6] from which point it is placed in a di-
Founded 2001
amond synthesis press. The diamonds are made via the
Headquarters Chicago, Illinois thermal gradient method using alloys as a flux at pres-
sures of 5.0–6.0 GPa and temperatures of 1,600–2,000 °C.
Key people CEO - Greg Herro
The entire process, from cremation to finished stone,
Products Synthetic diamonds created from the takes up to six months for yellow LifeGem diamonds and
remains of humans and animals. up to nine months for blue LifeGem diamonds.
Revenue $7.5 million (2006) Due to boron impurities present in the carbon, most
LifeGem synthetic diamonds produced up to 2003 were
Employees 4
Type IIb and were a light to medium blue in colour. Iron
Website www.lifegem.com flux inclusions within the stones also rendered them
magnetic. The synthesis process has since been modified,
LifeGem is the world’s first company offering to synthe- and LifeGem now produces yellow, blue, white (clear),
size memorial diamonds from the carbonized remains of red, and green diamonds.
humans or their pets. Established as the International Re- Three standard diamond cuts are offered to cus-
search & Recovery Corporation,[1] LifeGem was the first tomers: Round brilliant, radiant, and princess (the latter
U.S. company to develop a way to extract carbon from re- two cuts are rectangular and square in outline, respec-
mains.[2] According to Dean VandenBiesen, speaking on tively). The finished stones are laser inscribed with an
the Stan and Terry show May 7, 2007, the company is identifier, graded by gemologists, and are given a signed
able to create a diamond from a lock of hair.[3] The com- certificate of authenticity which contains a LifeGem ID#.
pany was founded in 2001 by Greg Herro, Mike Herro, The client also gets a report with a GIA serial number, a
Rusty VandenBiesen, and Dean VandenBiesen,[1] and was description of the stone’s color, and the fact that it was
first based in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. It is now head- lab-produced.[7]
quartered in Chicago and a second office, under the name
LifeGem UK, was recently opened in Hove, England.[4] In
2006, LifeGem had US$ 7.5 million in revenue. Projections
Charity
for 2007 included an increased sales of 15% to 20%.[2] In September 2007, LifeGem announced the completion
LifeGem’s services are offered at over 580 of the nearly and auction of the Ludwig van Beethoven LifeGem dia-
20,000 funeral homes in the United States. mond - a blue .56 ct round brilliant diamond which was
the first ever created from the carbon of a celebrity or
historical figure.[8] Three diamonds were created partial-
The gems ly from 130 mg of carbon extracted from 10 strands of
These synthetic diamonds are touted as "memorial dia- hair from the remains of Ludwig van Beethoven,[9] and
monds" and range in price from USD $3,499 for 0.20–0.29 partially from added carbon. One of the three diamonds
carat (40 to 59 mg) stones to $19,999 for stones weighing was listed for auction on eBay for US $1,000,000.00, with
0.90–0.99 carats (180–199 mg). The company can extract the proceeds to be donated to assist underprivileged chil-
enough purified carbon from one incompletely cremated dren. [8] The diamond was eventually sold for US
human body to synthesize up to 50 gems weighing one $202,700[10] after 62 bids on Ebay[citation needed]. One of
carat (0.2 g) each. As little as 227 g of carbonized remains the other two diamonds was given to John Reznikoff,
are needed to make one diamond, and up to 100 dia- provider of the Beethoven hair sample, to be stored at
monds can be created from the remains of one individ-
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia LifeGem
the University Archives,[9] and the final diamond is being 1563477/Beethoven’s-hair-turned-into-
kept by LifeGem to start a LifeGem "Chain of Fame".[11] andpound500k-diamond.html. Retrieved
2010-05-07.
Competition [10] A Beautiful New Way to Memorialize Loved Ones,
Abazias.com Diamond blog
Several companies offer memorial diamonds, including: [11] LifeGem Auctions the World’s First Celebrity
• GemSmart, a company based in San Diego, California Diamond on eBay for $1,000,000.00, LifeGem
which has been in business since 2002 [12] website
• Algordanza, a company based in Switzerland [13] [12] GemSmart - memorial diamonds created from
• Heart-In Diamond, a company based in Russia [14] human or pet ashes
• Anniversary Diamonds, a company based in United [13] Algordanza - Home > Home
Kingdom [15] [14] Heart-In Diamond
• New Life Diamonds and Gems[16] [15] Anniversary Diamonds
• Phoenix-Diamonds a company based in Macclesfield, [16] New Life Diamonds website
United Kingdom [17] [17] Phoenix Diamonds Website
References Further reading
[1] ^ LifeGem - Company Overview - Hoover’s • Gallegos, D., Wolfe, R. (2005). Sparkling in memory.
[2] ^ Chicago Business DenverPost.com. Retrieved 12 April 2005 from
[3] The Red LifeGem Diamond: The One of a Kind http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/
Valentine’s Day Gift They’ll Never Forget 0,1413,36~33~2771085,00.html.
[4] Prior, Malcolm (2004-01-12). "Diamond memories • Laurs, B. M., Overton, T. W. (2003). LifeGem synthetic
of the dead". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/ diamonds. Gems & Gemology, Vol. 39 No. 1., p. 62.
hi/england/berkshire/3389493.stm. Retrieved Gemological Institute of America.
2010-05-07. • Novotny, M. (2005). The ultimate family jewel.
[5] AsianWeek.com: Business: The Consumer: Precious MSNBC News: Countdown with Keith Olbermann.
Life Retrieved 12 April 2005 from
[6] Creating Diamonds from Human Ashes http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4751684.
[7] Colored Stone September/October 2003 - Sparkle in • Jones, N. (2006). Blunt Ashes. Hip-Hop is Dead.
Peace
[8] ^ LifeGem Auctions the World’s First Celebrity
Diamond on eBay for $1,000,000.00
External links
[9] ^ "Beethoven’s hair turned into £500k diamond". • LifeGem
Telegraph.co.uk (London: Telegraph Media Group • Heart-In Diamond
Limited). 19 September 2007. • Detailed discussion of memorial diamonds on
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/ PriceScope forum
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=LifeGem&oldid=471810468"
Categories:
• Synthetic diamond
• Companies based in Chicago, Illinois
• Death customs
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