Death becomes you

There’s another option besides burial or cremations for a deceased loved one these days: diamonds. Companies will turn the ashes of the dead into diamonds, Reuters reports, and as technology improves, the demand is rising.

Artificial diamonds are created by subjecting carbon to huge pressure and temperature, a method started by General Electric in the 1950s. Diamonds can be made out of cremated bodies, deceased pets, or hair from a body to be buried.

Some don’t want to say goodbye at the cemetery, says Veit Brimer, chairman of Swiss company Algordanza, a word that means remembrance. "Astonishingly these are mainly Christian people. They say: ‘Why should I say goodbye? I’ll see my husband in 15 years in heaven anyway.’ " Algordanza started in 2004 and now makes 60 diamonds a month.

LifeGem, a U.S. company, offers diamonds made from the hair of the living or dead. Nelson Funeral Service in Arkansas offers diamonds to burial and cremation clients. One of their funeral directors, Bobby Thurman, also had LifeGem make a diamond using hair from his whole family.

"My family will cherish this diamond for generations, and I expect other families will want to do the same," Thurman told Reuters.

I can't decide if this is creepy or sweet. Would you want such a diamond?