Memorial Diamonds Are Getting Popular in China

In some religions there's a belief that the death is just the beginning. We aren't going to discuss ideological ideas here but to show that once a close person passes away there are some options of how to bury him/her. One of the options that is getting very popular in China is turning ashes of a dead person into memorial diamonds. Here are some reasons whey more and more people decide on this alternative method instead of traditional burial on the mainland:

1 It helps to keep memory longer and closer – memorial diamonds are like real diamonds. They are solid, long-lasting and fadeless. Due to the growing process human ash undergoes high pressure high temperature processing and tightens to a diamond (from 500 grams of ashes come out 1-2 carat diamond stone). A person then can make a diamond jewelry and always keep it close.

Making Diamonds Out of Peanut Butter

It may sound weird but still it looks like even peanut butter may shine one day. Currently scientists from the Bayerisches Geoinstitute in Germany are taking pains in finding what Earth's mantle is actually made of. Want they or not but it is closely connected with diamond formation. Though the composition of the last is known but it's still unbelievable how carbon can be transferred into the most solid stone in the world with the change of conditions.

The team of researchers lead by David Robson are studying possible constituents of lower mantle, because it's still unknown what it consists of. There exists much information on upper layers but lower layers are buried too deep under the ground to be studied. However, there are chambers in the laboratories where the conditions are very close to real. So they take certain materials and expose them to high pressure and high temperature to make them denser. Among the most odd materials peanut butter was taken. This is not a random choice. In fact this is a carbonaceous material which under heat and pressure turned into small diamonds.

Some Ways to Get Your Memories Saved

Life is short but still there's enough time to make so many mistakes to people we love. Sometimes it seems nothing can help to redeem it, especially if a person passed away. No one can bring him/her back but there's one way that can help you have him/her closer with you for a bit longer — turning ashes to memorable thing.

The tradition of keeping an urn of ashes on your mantleplace is giving way to a new trend, when you can have personalized memorials of your close person, or even pass them to next generation. The co-operative named Memorials Walshall offers a range of options how to make the memories of a dead person unforgettable: either to turn them into painting, or body tattoo, or blast them in space or even make a diamond jewelry. Let's focus on the last option.

Synthetic Diamond Sets the Record

Speaking about the record in terms of diamonds, usually the only thing matters – diamond's size. Indeed, the amount of carats in a diamond gem may skyrocket the price to unbelievable extent. The larger the gem, is the more desired it becomes. Big diamonds are mined from time to time, though they are rare, but when synthetic diamonds are concerned the size here can be a stumbling block.

Thanks to modern technologies diamonds can be grown synthetically inside special chambers under certain conditions. Engineers can make them blue or yellow depending on the wish of a client but it doesn't matter how hard they try they can't grow them large. The record size for a synthetic diamond is 3 carats and the company that can boast such a success in diamond-growing technology is Pure Grown Diamonds (formerly Gemesis).

Alternative or Ethical Diamond Wedding Rings

Even though the technological development never stands still, some people aspire for ethical options rather than modern ones. Not only super up-to-date devices are meant, but it also concerns engagement and wedding rings.

Diamond mining is one of the most devastating procedure that has a global influence. No matter what most of the miners say, the destructive results of diamond extraction are evident. With that people are prone to steady traditions and it seems there is nothing to break one when a man has to propose with a diamond ring. No one can say where it came from but surely no one is going to put an end to it. Even more, with time it became cluttered with myths and legends about a meaning of a diamond in a ring. So to find the balance between these two ideas there are 3 alternative ethical diamond rings options for environmentally conscious people:

Diamonds That Can Help Make Beijing Air Clean

Diamond is a mineral mostly consisting of carbon. The rest part that doesn't belong to 'mostly' are impurities that add some color to diamonds turning them into highly sought-after colored gems. Since the people could study the composition, structure and natural processes under the Earth mantle that forego diamond formation, they were able to reproduce them on the top of the ground to create real diamonds. They are known as 'laboratory diamonds', 'cultured diamonds' or 'man-made diamonds'. Later this technology was used to make memorial diamonds – diamonds that are made of human hair or ashes, which are carbon-containing materials, too. But Daan Roosegaarde went to even greater extremes – he decided to turn city's soot to diamonds.

From Ashes to Diamonds

Have you ever contemplated over a phrase “from ashes you came, to ashes you will return”? It sounds fatal and lifeless. But there is actually life after death not only in a way of a soul, but in a form of a gem when it comes to diamonds made of ashes.

Swiss company Algordanza is known for making diamond gems from cremated human remains. They take ashes, put it into a diamond-growing chamber and compress into diamonds under high temperature and high pressure that resembles conditions deep under the Earth mantle. Algordanza have offices in 24 countries worldwide and each year from 800 to 900 people address them with request for diamonds.

Marketing Strategies Concerning Natural Diamonds

Diamond mining companies are going to change their marketing strategies to promote mined diamonds aggressively since man-made diamonds are winning the jewelry market over. This is the idea of a diamond mining giant like De Beers as well as smaller producers of natural rough diamonds. De Beers only has 81 clients who are troubled by the issue of how to cope with man-made diamonds on the market of fine jewelry. So this is the problem for diamantaries for today.

Why are Synthetic Diamonds So Expensive?

This is the question asked by every second person who at least once in life faced a choice between mined or synthetic diamonds. But it's better to specify the term “synthetic diamonds” since some readers may synonimize it with diamond substitute.

Synthetic, man made, lab-grown diamonds are the terms used to identify 100% diamonds which are grown in laboratories instead of being extracted from under the earth mantle. They shouldn't be mixed with cubic zirconia and moissanite, which are not diamond in terms of chemical composition, physical properties and even visual characteristics.

Probably the Best Present Idea for Mother's Day

If you are racking your brains over what present to choose for your mom to make her happy on her Mother's Day this year, then this information is to help you cope with this 'present selection' routine.

Selecting a gift is not a daunting task when you know what the presentee likes or wants to get. For example, if your mom is fond of indoor gardening houseplants, then a set of shovels or some gardening tools inside a beautiful flower pot will please her more than any other present. Or you can find out what is her favorite plant and look for a rare species to impress her. In case knitting is her fave, you can pamper her with some accessories like a pretty basket or an organizer that she would love to have. But if you are not on a budget and you are looking for an exceptional gift to underline your mom's great importance for you, you can decide on a diamond jewelry.

How to Celebrate Earth Day

You can find many articles in the internet offering you lots of activities connected with this day, something like “10 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day” or “5 Smart Ways to Celebrate Earth Day with Your Kids”, etc. It's great when you plant a tree and ride a bicycle this day, when you make a bird feeder and clean up litter in a nearby location, but there is one more point to add to that list of activities people usually omit – opt for man-made diamonds.

Briefly about man-made or synthetic diamonds

The Largest Colorless Lab-Grown Diamond So Far!

It seems there is no better explanation for man-made diamonds selling proposition that was once said by the founder of Gemesis company specializing on creating laboratory diamonds:

"If you give a woman a choice between a 2-carat stone and a 1-carat stone and everything else is the same, including the price, what's she gonna choose? ….Does she care if it's synthetic or not? Is anybody at a party going to walk up to her and ask, 'Is that synthetic?' There's no way in hell. So I'll bite your ass if she chooses the smaller one."

The Only Effective Way to Protect the Environment

While browsing the internet you will find a great number of ways suggesting you how to save the environment. Or there are lots of BBC and National Geographic documentaries shouting about the devastating impact of mankind on wild nature. You are imposed on a variety of methods how to lessen the destructive impact on nature but it looks like treating the symptoms instead of the problem, which is actually the problem of mind.

Natalie Pilon's Precious Cat

Breaking traditions: it's known that pets are humans' friends but when they pass away what is left are only memories and photos but even they will fade with time. However, now there is a method to give everlasting life to your pets. Want to know how? Turn them into diamonds, just like Natalie Pilon, a biotech sales representative in Boston, did.

Meowy was her beloved cat who died after 20 years and it's hard to tell how deep her sorrow was. To somehow make it easier Ms. Pilon decided to make memorial diamonds out of Meowy's cremated remains. Now she has a blue diamond ring on her finger just like having a best friend always close with you. This could seem a bit eccentric as this is not what everyone would dare to do. This is the way she chose to 'materialize' her memories about her cat. It's like turning a precious pet into precious gems, what with modern technologies is quite possible today.

The idea of creating man made diamonds from human or as you can see here from pet's ashes is not novel. It dates back a decade when it was first planned to memorize humans. Gradually it widened to pets, so that this industry is now flourishing and seems never fade till there are pet lovers.

The color and size of a diamond depend on a wearer's choice. In can be a big solitary gem or some smaller stones, both variants are plausible. Be it a small stone or a tiny one it is real with all possible characteristics of a mined diamond. However, keep in mind that memorial diamonds are more expensive than ordinary man made diamonds and their price usually starts from $1,000.

Ms. Pilon is just one example of owners of man made diamonds created from pet's ashes. In reality there are quite a number of them including Jennifer Durante, a 42-year-old former owner of a teacup Chihuahua named Tetley or including Sonya Zofrea, a 42-year-old lady who greatly loved her black cat with huge orange eyes. To remind her of her naughty kitty she ordered two fancy yellow diamonds and now is happy about having them on her finger.

Yet Another Company to Produce Synthetic Diamonds

The competition is getting tough on jewelry market, where alongside jewelry manufacturers offering natural diamond gems there is a range of diamond growing labs that can boast 100% diamonds of non-natural origin, extremely high quality and less price. Now there is another company to add to that list: Washington Diamonds Corp.

In order to win the customers Washington Diamonds Corp. should offer something different and they will. First of all, there are going to be diamonds of larger size. As you know, large diamonds are very rare similar as their number is scarce in natural conditions. However, gems of 1-2 carats size are most sought after. Just to meet the needs of the customers Washington Diamonds Corp.

will grow diamonds of 1+ carat. The largest stone they have managed to create is 2.3 carat in size. With the use of CVD technology they will cultivate approximately 150 ct. a month, what is a few thousand carats a year. But don't be in a hurry to seek for these stones, since the company hasn't yet decided how it's going to sell it. Following Gemesis experience, a world-know diamond growing company, Washington Diamonds Corp. inclines to internet distribution.

All the stones will be certified by American Gem Society with the inscription of the latter. The clarity to expect is SI and the color rage is from G to I, what is colorless.

Let's Shift from Natural to Synthetic Diamonds

About two weeks ago the Rapaport International Diamond Conference 2012 was held in Mumbai, where serious issues concerning Indian diamond market, pricing, new regulatory and compliance requirements that India is going to face soon had been discussed. But now it seems the time for a fest, GemFest if to be precise.

GIA has chosen Hong Kong as a place location for its GemFest at the Hong Kong Jewellery and Gem Fair where they will touch upon such topics as current status of synthetic gem diamonds. GIA's director of research and development Dr. Wuyi Wang is about to speak on September 19 and 22 about latest advancements in Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) and High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) methods of producing synthetic diamonds of white color.

There can be various motives that pushed GIA to hold the conference either it could be those undetected synthetic diamonds that made a huge stir this year being sold for natural or the event was planned prior to the occasion due to growing popularity of synthetic gem diamonds but it's evident that synthetic diamonds draw much attention of both diamantaires and mere customers.

Some words about the reporter: Dr. Wuyi Wang has got more than 20-years experience in studying diamond geochemistry and diamond treatment. You can see his publications in many geological and gemological issues.

Centaurus Diamond Technology, Inc. - New Star on Jewelry Market's Horizon

Let us remind a bit about conflict-free man made diamonds and the way they are popular now just in order to introduce you another diamond growing lab – Centaurus Diamond Technology, Inc. Unlike Scion Diamonds Technology,which are more focused on quantity of produced diamonds, Centaurus are concentrated on quality of their products. Are they satisfied with it? Absolutely, as it is approved by GIA.

The Medal of Honor is the highest award the American soldier can get, when transferred into the 'language' of jewelry this is the GIA approval a lab-grown diamond can be conferred on. Just recently Centaurus diamonds passed GIA test (the most respected gemological laboratory not only in the U.S. but worldwide as well) and there can be no prejudices left to prevent customers from buying them. Visually these diamonds are absolutely indistinguishable from natural-formed diamonds for both a mere customer and an experienced jewelry professional unless they have a wide range of tools to assist them in identifying the origin. While Centaurus diamonds look like real diamonds and they feel like real diamonds they are however lower in price, probably the only difference that tells them from real diamonds. The major we can add. So what do you think about Centaurus Diamonds? Would you opt for them?

GIA Offers Discount Diamond ID Service

With synthetic diamond boom now when they are rapidly winning the marker there can be a confusion like it was this spring when synthetic diamonds are sold as mined or another problem when diamond simulants are claimed to be real diamonds. In both cases it's better to be sure what stone you are offered. This situation caused jewelry experts to think over quick and easy ways of diamond identification such as DiamaPen, the device made in a shape of pen with the laser inside that allows to say diamonds from synthetic diamonds and non-diamonds. While this know-how fully drew the attention of jewelry experts, Gemological Institute of America decided to make a strategic move not to be left offside: low-cost diamond ID service!

According to Diamond World, GIA will focus on small diamonds of 0.20 carats and lower. As it's known, synthetic diamonds are usually of smaller sises in comparison with mined ones that can reach several carats in size. And due to their properties they are hard to differentiate from genuine stones. With that in mind GIA is going to identify the origin of diamonds and possible color treatment it was subjected. The service is really inexpensive – only $12 per a gem. Moreover, both mounted and loose stones can be qualified for this service.

Conflict-Free Man Made Diamonds

When we say man made diamonds are conflict-free we really mean it. In some countries where the diamonds are mined child labor is applied to get the diamonds from under the ground. In others diamonds play significant role in supporting military conflicts between feuding clans, here they are used as a mean allowing to get weapon. But if you may think that these aspects of diamonds don't concern you as far as you are living far from Africa where this can be an urgent issue, you are wrong. Conflict caused by diamonds are here behind the corner.

On July 5, a man came in Manassas Mall and went his way to Shaw's Jewelers where he requested to see a diamond ring. Once he was given a precious thing (it valued $16,700), he ran out the mall and disappeared. Now the police is ferreting out a desperate robber. Whatever his motive was, he will definitely be punished.

$16,700 for a ring can be a big buck for a mere man, especially for one who is planning to propose his lady and bolster his intentions with a wedding ceremony. Possibly feeling hopeless about his prospects, he resolved on stealing a ring. But let's try another scenario with less expensive diamond jewelry.

Man made diamonds are known to be real, true diamonds with all the same characteristics of natural-formed stones. Yet even possessing all of them created diamonds are cheaper than those in Manassas Mall. Moreover, if your fiance has an exquisite taste and colored diamond engagement ring is the only ring that will melt her hear, you will have to fully empty your pockets to satisfy her whim.

Such pessimistic ball game in many cases may induce people for actions they would never ever do in their life. But when the ring costs from $1000 to $6000 in average there is no need to risk and steal it as you can really afford it! Pretend you are ready for another level of relations and you need a proposing ring. How much would you be ready to spare? If $4000-5000 is your upper limit then man made diamond engagement ring is what you can easily afford without stealing. You may ask where you can get it? There is actually a wide choice of man made engagement rings through out the internet so that it won't be difficult to find one to satisfy your budget. In this regard lab grown diamond rings are not only conflict-free, but wallet-friendly and risk-free. Keep yourself safe and happy!

Scio Diamond Technology Unsurpassed All Expectations?

This spring we've already posted about Scio Diamond plans to mass produce synthetic diamonds, not much did it take them to implement their plans. Even though the company claimed to have 10 diamond growing reactors ready for producing diamonds, they now run 5 but full steam.

We'll remind you that Scio Diamond Technology Corporation bought a controlling stake in Apollo Diamonds, which used chemical vapor deposition method to manufacture stones for both industrial needs and jewelry sector. It looks like Scio sticks to the traditions of Apollo company but is taking pain to grow even more. And they really manufacture more.

After one reactor ran 179 hours an average, the company managed to produce 220 gross carats of diamonds. Of course, the chief executive officer says this is a great progress if to take into account they want to make real diamonds affordable to any customer. It's everything clear with the quantity but this is not the main target though. The quality is another aspect to pay attention. CVD diamonds produced by Scio are of very high quality if to believe the executive officer. What is more they plan to focus on the needs and likes of their clients and grow the stones with particular specifications if needed.