# Can a diamond be manufactured from cremation remains? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 13, 2006, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-diamond-be-manufactured-from-cremation-remains/356639 "2006-05-13T14:58:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RockoSoBe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@RockoSoBe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RockoSoBe)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-diamond-be-manufactured-from-cremation-remains/356639/1 "2006-05-13T14:58:47Z")
I was told about this company (Life Gem) recently and I’m curious if the process is possible. ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-diamond-be-manufactured-from-cremation-remains/356639/2 "2006-05-13T15:10:52Z")
Uh, well, if the company claims to do it, then I guess it is possible, no? Are you suggesting that you think LifeGem is lying? [Synthetic diamonds](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_diamond) are certain feasible, so I suppose they just start with the carbon from the person’s remains, rather than starting from any old carbon lying around. ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-diamond-be-manufactured-from-cremation-remains/356639/3 "2006-05-13T16:14:04Z")
I suspect scam? Diamond are pure carbon. Your cemation remains are mainly inorganic ash with almost no carbon ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-diamond-be-manufactured-from-cremation-remains/356639/4 "2006-05-13T16:19:45Z")
Coincidentally, I just saw this: [Beethoven Diamond](http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-05-12T204738Z_01_N12186307_RTRUKOC_0_US-LIFE-BEETHOVEN-DIAMOND.xml&archived=False&src=051206_2050_ARTICLE_PROMO_also_on_reuters) ---
**Author:** ![edwino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@edwino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwino)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-diamond-be-manufactured-from-cremation-remains/356639/5 "2006-05-13T16:23:13Z")
> [@scm1001](#): > > I suspect scam? Diamond are pure carbon. Your cemation remains are mainly inorganic ash with almost no carbon I would suspect ash actually is mostly carbon and crushed apatite. [http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,55231,00.html](http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,55231,00.html) And the wikipedia article: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LifeGem](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LifeGem) Seems legit. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-diamond-be-manufactured-from-cremation-remains/356639/6 "2006-05-13T16:26:17Z")
How would you know whether the diamond they give you was indeed made from the remains they received? You wouldn’t, unless you watched them do it. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-diamond-be-manufactured-from-cremation-remains/356639/7 "2006-05-13T16:26:47Z")
[Snopes: diamonds are forever?](http://www.snopes.com/science/diamonds.htm) Snopes’ take… it might be possible, but there’s no way to guarantee that lifeGem is actually making diamonds out of the specified cremains, rather than someone else’s, or out of the usual raw materials for artificial diamonds ---
**Author:** ![RockoSoBe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@RockoSoBe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RockoSoBe)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-diamond-be-manufactured-from-cremation-remains/356639/8 "2006-05-13T16:26:58Z")
> [@Myglaren](#): > > Coincidentally, I just saw this: > [Beethoven Diamond](http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-05-12T204738Z_01_N12186307_RTRUKOC_0_US-LIFE-BEETHOVEN-DIAMOND.xml&archived=False&src=051206_2050_ARTICLE_PROMO_also_on_reuters) Interesting! Tyvm ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-diamond-be-manufactured-from-cremation-remains/356639/9 "2006-05-13T21:23:05Z")
Can a diamond be manufactured from cremation remains? - **NO.** > [@RockoSoBe](#): > > I was told about this company (Life Gem) recently and I’m curious if the process is possible. Cremation temperatures burns up most if not all of the carbon. [Not exactly the usual cremation process to make you into a diamond](http://www.popsci.com/popsci/fyi/3ddb893302839010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html) OTOH there is a new process involving the deposition of carbon ions from organic vapors and at very high temperatures which is alleged to produce genuine diamonds. Perfect in every way. DeBeers is jealuous. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-diamond-be-manufactured-from-cremation-remains/356639/10 "2006-05-13T22:33:35Z")
> [@spingears](#): > > Can a diamond be manufactured from cremation remains? - **NO.** > Cremation temperatures burns up most if not all of the carbon. Once again you got it wrong **spingears**. Cremation temperature in no way burns up the carbon. So the answer is YES, just as everyone before your post posited. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-diamond-be-manufactured-from-cremation-remains/356639/11 "2006-05-13T22:49:27Z")
> [@spingears](#): > > Can a diamond be manufactured from cremation remains? - **NO.** > Cremation temperatures burns up most if not all of the carbon. > > [Not exactly the usual cremation process to make you into a diamond](http://www.popsci.com/popsci/fyi/3ddb893302839010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html) > > OTOH there is a new process involving the deposition of carbon ions from organic vapors and at very high temperatures which is alleged to produce genuine diamonds. Perfect in every way. DeBeers is jealuous. **spingears** , Did you even condsier reading your very own fucking cite??? > [@](#): > > Another option? Have your remains turned into a family heirloom. LifeGem in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, has perfected a flashier type of after-death alchemy: transforming cremated remains into man-made diamonds. Technicians extract pure carbon from the ashes, then place the carbon into a diamond press that exerts intense heat (about 2,200oF) and pressures of up to 50,000 atmospheres for several days. The rough diamond that results—which will be naturally colored yellow or orange but can, through processing, be made blue with trace amounts of the element boron—can be faceted and polished just like an ordinary stone. In addition to choosing the color, you can specify the size of your LifeGem, from 0.2 to 1 carat. At $20,000 for a 1-carat blue diamond, though, it’s a fair bit more expensive than a typical cremation, which costs around $1,000 (small yellow gemstones start at $2,700). Total turnaround time: six to nine months. > [@](#): > > (coffins, in contrast, can take decades to decompose, and cremation turns corpses into nutrient-poor inorganic carbon). . Not only does the site you linked to mention more than TWICE, that cremains are composed of carbon ash, but it even talks about LifeGem and their technique. What the hell are you doing? Playing with Google and reading only the first three lines of the first link they give you? Do us all a favor and stop trying to answer questions which you know absolutely nothing about. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-diamond-be-manufactured-from-cremation-remains/356639/12 "2006-05-14T06:34:19Z")
Man, calm down. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-diamond-be-manufactured-from-cremation-remains/356639/13 "2006-05-14T14:25:57Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > How would you know whether the diamond they give you was indeed made from the remains they received? You wouldn’t, unless you watched them do it. For that matter, how do you know the ashes they give you are indeed, the ashes of your loved one? The whole setup is a matter of faith, before you ever actually get to the cremain bling. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-diamond-be-manufactured-from-cremation-remains/356639/14 "2006-05-14T14:41:25Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > For that matter, how do you know the ashes they give you are indeed, the ashes of your loved one? The whole setup is a matter of faith, before you ever actually get to the cremain bling. So are many other aspects of “cremation services” are you even sure that the ashes in the jar are your departed loved one? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-diamond-be-manufactured-from-cremation-remains/356639/15 "2006-05-14T14:42:57Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Once again you got it wrong **spingears**. Cremation temperature in no way burns up the carbon. I would like some support for this claim. Much of the carbon combines with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide that is vented from the crematorium with other gases produced by burning. What carbon molecule would remain in the ashes? The term “carbon ash” sounds like an oxymoron to me. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-diamond-be-manufactured-from-cremation-remains/356639/16 "2006-05-14T15:21:31Z")
I have done some research, and come up with[this estimate of the chemical composition of human cremains](http://www.cremate-me.net/ashdisp2.php): > [@](#): > > According to Gayle E. O’Neill, Ph.d. of TEI Analytical, Inc., your post cremation chemical composition will be: > > Phosphate 47.5% > Calcium 25.3% > Sulfate 11.00% > Potassium 3.69% > Sodium 1.12% > Chloride 1.00% > Silica 0.9% > Aluminum oxide 0.72% > > And the list goes on: > > Magnesium 0.418% > Iron Oxide 0.118% > > Plus Zinc,Titanium Oxide, Barium, Antimony, Chromium, Copper, Manganese, Lead, Tin, and Vanadium in much smaller quantities. Beryllium and Mercury will be present in minute quantities. No carbon listed at all. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-diamond-be-manufactured-from-cremation-remains/356639/17 "2006-05-14T15:32:04Z")
That was a helpful link, and I admit I was hasty, but not completely wrong. From your link > [@](#): > > Diamonds are carbon. Your ashes will contain some carbon although it was not included in O’Neill’s analysis. > > However, there isn’t much carbon in your ashes compared to the amount of Phosphate and Calcium. \ > > But now (in 2005/6) it is possible to actually make diamonds out of your ashes. To turn you into a diamond, LifeGem takes 8-ounces of your ashes. You are purified at about 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The high temperature vaporizes all of the noncarbon elements in your ashes and converts the carbon into crystallized graphite. Pretty hot stuff, most of you has already been incinerated at 2,000 degrees, and now almost all of the little that was left vaporizes. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-diamond-be-manufactured-from-cremation-remains/356639/18 "2006-05-14T15:37:14Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > That was a helpful link, and I admit I was hasty, but not completely wrong. > > From your link Thanks sam, I should have read further.