Cremation Diamonds, Ashes into a Reef, Burials at Sea – What are Your Options after Death?

Besides a traditional cemetery burial, there are arguably a number of approaches to disposing off the body of a departed loved one in the USA, such as cremation and a string of related post cremation services like cremation diamonds. However, whichever approach the bereaved uses to send off a departed loved one depends on existing laws, environmental concerns, culture or religion and most importantly, affordability.

The Many Ways to Handle Your Departed Ones’ Ashes after Cremation

The legally acceptable approaches to disposing off a deceased in the USA include cemetery burial, cremation and medical donation. Despite cemetery burial being the main approach in the USA for a long time, cremations have increasingly grown in popularity over the years credited by affordability and convenience and thus surpassing the national rate of burials for two consecutive years, in 2016 and 2017.

Cremation refers to the combustion, vaporization, and oxidation of cadavers to basic chemical compounds, such as gases, ashes and mineral fragments retaining the appearance of dry bone. Cremation options offered in the USA include; traditional cremation, where a funeral service is held before cremating the deceased. Memorial gathering, where after cremation, the urn is put on display at the funeral service and direct cremation, where the body is cremated immediately after death, without a funeral service.

The traditional ways of handling ashes include;

Bury the ashes: Here, cremated remains are buried in smaller plots within a cemetery or placed within a family member’s full size plot. The ashes can also be buried in a yard, at home and the spot marked with a statue or a simple rock.

Cremation urn: An urn is a vase used for storing the cremated ashes of a person. The bereaved can store their loved one’s ashes in a beautiful urn and display it in a special area within the family home.

Scatter the ashes on land: The ashes are simply poured out or spread onto a piece of land using special scattering urns.

Scatter the ashes at sea: The ashes are placed in a biodegradable and water soluble urn which is later tossed into the ocean. The urn floats for a few minutes before sinking to the bottom; as the water breaks down the biodegradable urn, the remains are scattered throughout the ocean. The Federal Clean Water Act requires that you go out at least three nautical miles before scattering ashes at sea.

Modern ways of handling ashes include;

Ashes to fireworks: The cremated ashes are blasted in different beautiful firework displays for the bereaved.

Ashes to art:  Artists include your loved one’s ashes are in a glass orb or a glass heart.

Ashes to space: Postmortem flights, a low-orbit journey that lets your ashes experience zero gravity before returning to Earth, a chance to orbit Earth and eventually burn up in the atmosphere or launching the ashes to the moon and into deep space.

Ashes to space: The bereaved can choose either a low-orbit journey for the deceased’s ashes to experience zero gravity before returning to Earth, burning up in the atmosphere or launching the ashes to the moon and into deep space.

Carbon copies: This is a 240 pencil set made from the carbon extracted from cremated ashes. Each pencil is foil stamped with the name of the deceased.

Due to concerns about toxins polluting the environment, people in the USA are gravitating towards ecologically safer ways of handling ashes such as;

 

Sea corals are an ecologically safer way of handling ashes of a deceased

Ashes into reef: Create artificial reef material out of a mixture of concrete and cremated ashes. These heavy concrete orbs are then placed in areas where reefs need restoration, attracting fish and other organisms that turn the remains into an undersea habitat.

Ashes into a tree: Capsula Mundi burial pods offer a way for cremated ashes to become a tree. Once the ashes are inside the pod, it is planted into the Earth like a seed. Then, a tree which is chosen by the deceased before they die or the bereaved is planted above the pod. The bereaved care for the tree as a memorial to their loved one while the pod safely decomposes in the soil.

Memorial garden: This is usually a small one tree garden or an oversized flowerbed different flowers and ornamental grass that acts as a tribute to a deceased and offers a place for the bereaved to commemorate their loved one.

Cremation diamonds: Turn the ashes of your loved one into a beautiful diamond.

Focus: The Rise of Cremation Diamonds Specialist Companies in Recent Years

Cremation diamonds are artificial diamonds created from the carbon content of the cremated ashes of a deceased.

During cremation diamond creation, renowned specialists place a carbon source such as graphite or diamond powder in a reactor chamber along with other ingredients to facilitate diamond growth atop a diamond seed. A molten metal catalyst, usually containing a mixture of Fe, Ni, Co, or other elements allows growth to proceed at a lower temperature which reduces the technological complexity and some of the expenses required to grow diamond under HPHT conditions. HPHT growth occurs at pressures of 5–6 GPa and at temperatures of 1300–1600°C. HPHT growth proceeds by creating a temperature gradient in which the carbon source is at a slightly higher temperature than the diamond growth seed. This causes the carbon atoms to diffuse through the molten flux toward the slightly colder section of the chamber to form a synthetic diamond crystal on the seed. The process of creating a cremation diamond from ashes takes 6 to 9 months depending on the characteristics of the diamond ordered.

The rise of cremation diamond specialist companies is credited to the very high cremation rates in USA; over 70% especially in the Western States and the ever changing burial trend in the funeral industry that is responsible for the current demand for uniquely customized means of commemorating a deceased.

Some of the cremation diamond specialist companies in the USA include; ALGORDANZA, Heart in Diamonds, LIFEGEM and LONITÉ, which has an existing branch office in Buffalo, New York state in USA.

Cremation Diamonds as a Solution to Many Issues in the Current Funeral Industry

The aspect of mobility: Cremation diamonds come in sizes starting at 0.25ct but custom orders for smaller sizes can also be made. This makes it easy for the bereaved to carry their cremation diamond around to anywhere possible without fear of losing it compared to cemetery burial plots that are immobile and therefore limiting to the bereaved.

The growing trend towards personalization: Modern families are interested in more post burial alternatives like cremation diamonds that are custom designed to celebrate the uniqueness of their departed loved one. Cremation diamonds can be personalized to reflect the deceased’s hobbies, favorite color or even metal.

Cremation diamonds are ecologically safer: Cemetery burials release 10% more carbon than what is required in cremation diamond creation which contributes to global warming. Notably, enough embalming fluid is buried annually to fill eight Olympic-size pools; which equally poses a pollution threat.

Cremation diamonds are an affordable approach to burial: The average traditional funeral in USA costs between $7,000 and $10,000 which is too expensive for the average person to afford.

The death of a loved one is an emotionally trying time, especially with the burden of choosing a befitting sendoff that lies in the hands of the bereaved. Cremation diamonds, among other approaches to burial help the bereaved to achieve closure and respectfully commemorate their departed loved one.