My Gert Diamond
After our sweet senior hospice adoption Gert passed away, I was struggling with how to keep her close. We have many photos of her, and even some beautiful art (@itsnoneofyourbusinesseleanor made me a gorgeous needlepoint of her outline with the words Thank You For Being A Gert that made me cry when I opened it). But I knew I wanted to do something special with her ashes to keep her with me always, and that’s how I found out about memorial diamonds.
Memorial diamonds are real diamonds that are made from the carbon found in ashes. In nature, diamonds are made of compressed carbon over thousands of years and tons of pressure. With lab created diamonds, carbon is compressed via machine, forming a diamond that is virtually identical to a mined diamond. These can now be created to include ashes from a loved one, or with hair. Once I learned that this was possible, I decided this was what I wanted to do with Gert’s ashes. I told Eric that this was what I wanted for my birthday and as my wedding gift, and he agreed. We began researching companies, looking at reviews, time to create them, and price.
My True Blue diamond
Something to note is that these are not cheap. They are literally diamonds. They may be slightly cheaper than buying a mined diamond of the same carat size and clarity, but at the end of the day you are buying actual diamonds, so keep that in mind when you see these prices.
Ultimately we landed on a company called Heart in Diamond. We chose them for a few reasons:
Production time was good. They say that it will take 70 to 120 days to produce and deliver the diamond to your doorstep. (Keep in mind you first have to place your order, receive the kit, put your ashes in it, and mail it to them).
Price match offer. They say that if you can find another certified company that will make the same size and clarity diamond you want for a cheaper price they’ll match it. I’m not sure how this works as we did not do it, but it’s a nice thing to know.
Flexible payment plans. They offer interest-free payment plans for 6, 12 and 24 months with only 25% deposit. The monthly plans starts as low as $62 per month. We did not take advantage of this offer but if you need this option it’s nice to know it’s there.
Choices. There were many choices of color, size, shape, and jewelry options if you want it to come as part of a piece already (we just got the diamond and had it set elsewhere). They also state that there is a lifetime guarantee.
Once we made the decision of which company to go with, the rest was easy. I knew I wanted it to be blue to represent her True Blue shelter name. I chose round as my shape, and Eric chose to aim for .5 carats, and the diamond itself is slightly under that which is perfect (I actually wanted a slightly smaller one initially, my inspiration was the Elsa Peretti Tiffany necklace which uses a .25 carat diamond, I think a small one is perfectly lovely.)
My amazing perfect Gert diamond necklace
Eric reached out to the manufacturer and discussed the purchase, and he paid for the diamond. Then they sent him a kit, and he had to scoop some of the ashes into it. Fair warning, he said this part was really hard for him, and that the ashes themselves were pretty gross. But once he sent it off, he was given updates on the diamond, and then it arrived within the timeframe and with all the paperwork, looking beautiful. We had it set in the necklace style I wanted, and I’ve worn it every day since.
I reached out to Heart in Diamond to ask if they’d set up a discount code for our followers. They agreed, and the code GERT should give you 5% off (you may have to give it when you speak to the representative, and if it doesn’t work let me know before you order). They also set up an affiliate code for us, so if you want to order one please use our link! We will donate 25% of anything ordered to Mr. Bones and Co, the rescue that saved Gert. If you do order, please let me know!
Sending love to anyone unfortunately considering this, I’m so sorry for your loss.
