# Life Gems: Now You Never Have To Let Go! Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 30, 2004, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017 "2004-10-30T14:00:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Liz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/liz/32/17737_2.png) [@Liz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liz)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017/1 "2004-10-30T14:00:12Z")
I ran a search and found that no one had devoted a thread to the beauty that is [LifeGems](http://www.lifegem.com/). In case you haven’t heard of these, the fine and caring folks at LifeGem capture the carbon that is produced when you cremate a loved one, purify it, and create a diamond that you can wear to all social functions! They will do this starting at the low, low price of $2,499 for .20 of a carat, going up in price and size to the magnificent .90 of a carat for $13,999. For the record, you can burn me, bury me, feed me to the dogs, set me on fire and shove me out to sea, or grind me up for GirlSpam sandwiches. But no matter what, do not make a freaking LifeGem out of me. Please. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Liz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/liz/32/17737_2.png) [@Liz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liz)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017/2 "2004-10-30T14:06:42Z")
:rolleyes: I forgot to add the part that makes it a IMHO thread: What do you guys think of this? Would any of you Dopers want one? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017/3 "2004-10-30T14:24:26Z")
Um, I would have no objection to be a rock, though I am not entirely certain I would want to make mrAru a rock…though I have seen online an advert for a glassblower who will admix some cremains into molten glass and make something with the resulting mix :dubious: My main thought is what happens to your lifegem if the person who had you made into a rock dies…do you get auctioned off? Will there be a fad for collecting lifegems[like those braided hair mourning momento mori from the 1800s]? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017/4 "2004-10-30T21:49:19Z")
I think it’d cool to be made into a diamond or something else that is guaranteed to last until the sun subsumes the earth although I wouldn’t ask for it to be done nor would I have it done to any friend or family. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017/5 "2004-10-30T22:24:55Z")
When I saw that site the first thing I thought of was this Ursula K. LeGuin story about a planet where there was a handful of immortal people. The tourists who go to visit the island are all fascinated by these diamond-like things that are all over the island. At the end you learn that these things are really immortal people whose bodies broke down and became diamonds naturally, meaning they had been alive for millions of years. And the diamonds were alive, because they were technically still immortal people. So there were all these immortal people who wound up being some space tourist’s knick knack. That story gave me the creeps. ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017/6 "2004-10-30T22:35:13Z")
I like the idea of being a gem but I don’t think anyone would want to wear me. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017/7 "2004-10-30T22:42:00Z")
I really like the idea of turning a loved one into a diamond. It’s not creepy to me in the least. ---
**Author:** ![AveDementia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@AveDementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AveDementia)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017/8 "2004-10-31T03:33:28Z")
[Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/science/diamonds.htm) has “undetermined” on this, but they do point out: [QUOTE] it is impossible to distinguish LifeGem synthetic diamonds from other synthetic diamonds. [QUOTE] Leading to the excellent questions: > [@](#): > > If that’s the case, what stops LifeGems from producing synthetic diamonds from ordinary graphite, then passing them off as a bit of your dear uncle Harry? Indeed, what stops them from buying synthetic diamonds from other suppliers and reselling them to the bereaved at large mark-ups? It’s a sweet idea, though. ---
**Author:** ![emekthian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecae2f/32.png) [@emekthian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emekthian)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017/9 "2004-10-31T04:39:46Z")
When I die, I want my body to be bombarded with neutrons, causing my atoms to become unstable and decay into smaller atoms, until I eventually become hydrogen. ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017/10 "2004-10-31T05:42:43Z")
One of my aunts thinks this would be a great idea for my grandpa. We’ve all moved away from where he’s interred, so why not make him into a few gems and never worry about finding time to visit? I think we should just let me mix him into a ceramic glaze and decorate his own urn. Long lasting, attractive, and a hell of a lot cheaper than that gem thingy. It’s frightening to think I may be the closest to normal my family has to offer. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017/11 "2004-10-31T17:34:07Z")
> [@Ashes](#): > > One of my aunts thinks this would be a great idea for my grandpa. We’ve all moved away from where he’s interred, so why not make him into a few gems and never worry about finding time to visit? > > I think we should just let me mix him into a ceramic glaze and decorate his own urn. Long lasting, attractive, and a hell of a lot cheaper than that gem thingy. > > It’s frightening to think I may be the closest to normal my family has to offer. that username is eerily appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017/12 "2004-10-31T17:59:09Z")
Hmmm . . . Wish I’d known about this before I had a necklace fashioned from Grandma’s teeth . . ---
**Author:** ![Glassy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@Glassy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glassy)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017/13 "2004-10-31T19:15:34Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > I have seen online an advert for a glassblower who will admix some cremains into molten glass and make something with the resulting mix :dubious: I’m a glass blower and I can confirm. Customers have requested that we make sealed vessels with ashes inside them, which we have done. They’ve also asked us to put the ash in the glass itself and make something out of that, which we’ve refused to do (because we don’t like tampering with the chemical properties of the glass; and because, you understand, everything we made that day would have grandma in it). I have heard word-of-mouth rumors of a company that mixes pretty sparkly stuff into the glass along with the ashes, and then claims to their customers that the cremains are what makes the glass pretty and sparkly. Defrauding the recently bereaved is so un-classy, no? By far the creepiest request we ever got was the guy who commissioned us to make two tiny bottles, with which he planned to capture the tears of his terminally ill wife. Ewwwww! ---
**Author:** ![Graycat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Graycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Graycat)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017/14 "2004-10-31T20:23:57Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Hmmm . . . Wish I’d known about this before I had a necklace fashioned from Grandma’s teeth . . Perfect! I knew this whole idea felt wrong and creepy but I couldn’t quite articulate why I felt that way. **Eve** has captured it better than I ever could. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017/15 "2004-11-01T00:06:03Z")
> [@chatelaine](#): > > For the record, you can burn me, bury me, feed me to the dogs, set me on fire and shove me out to sea, or grind me up for GirlSpam sandwiches. But no matter what, do not make a freaking LifeGem out of me. Please. [Homer] Mmmmm… GirlSpam sandwiches. (drools) [/Homer] ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017/16 "2004-11-01T00:48:56Z")
Whiskey.Tango.Foxtrot… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017/17 "2004-11-01T01:30:08Z")
I have no problem with this, in fact I think it would be an interesting heirloom to have a necklace or something that the family keeps adding relatives to as they kick off. But, they they should really call it “Death Gems”… And I gotta ask, what’s this “Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.” thing? ---
**Author:** ![constantine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@constantine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constantine)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017/18 "2004-11-01T01:39:42Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > I have no problem with this, in fact I think it would be an interesting heirloom to have a necklace or something that the family keeps adding relatives to as they kick off. But, they they should really call it “Death Gems”… > > And I gotta ask, what’s this “Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.” thing? I believe that as used here it means “What The F\_\_\_” ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017/19 "2004-11-01T01:39:47Z")
That’s the military/ham radio names for the letters WTF. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017/20 "2004-11-01T01:40:50Z")
blasted simulpost. mutter mutter mutter [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-gems-now-you-never-have-to-let-go-whiskey-tango-foxtrot/272017.md?page=2)