What is a memorial diamond

A memorial diamond is a diamond with special meaning and value of life. It is also called "cremation diamond" or "diamond burial", using high-pressure-and-high-temperature(HPHT) technology to turn ashes into shining diamonds. It is a method to make our dearest people "always be by my side". Memorial diamonds are also a type of lab-grown diamonds. This lab-grown diamond can be made into jewelry and worn to express people's longing for the departed relatives.

More and more people begin to choose memorial diamonds/lab-grown diamonds, and major brands are entering the game

Memorial diamonds, life diamonds, ashes diamonds, hair diamonds, and other similar diamonds with special meanings or material descriptions are collectively referred to as lab-grown diamonds in the jewelry industry.

Two advantages of lab-made diamonds

Advantage I: The price is a significant advantage of lab-made diamonds

The first advantage of lab-grown diamonds is that they are more cost-effective than natural diamonds and have a shorter formation time.

In terms of cost-performance, the colour, clarity, carat weight, and cut (4C) of cultivated diamonds are no different to natural diamonds. With the same carat and grade, the market price of lab-grown diamonds is only half or even lower than that of natural diamonds. According to Bain Consulting’s "Global Diamond Industry Report 2019", the retail price of lab-grown diamonds in 2016 was about 80% of natural diamonds, and from 2017 to 2020, the proportion reduced to 65%, 50%, 50%, 35% respectively. It is worth noting that lower production costs and retail prices provide strong support for lab-made diamonds to expand their market share further.
In terms of production time, lab-made diamonds only take a few weeks, while the formation cycle of natural diamonds can be as long as 100 million years.

Advantage II: The Lab-Grown diamonds are in line with the trend of sustainable development

Natural diamond deposits are limited, and global diamond production has declined year by year since 2017. According to Bain Consulting’s Global Diamond Industry Report 2020, global rough diamond production will remain stable in the next decade and is conservatively expected to continue to decline at a rate of 1% to 2%. The probability of finding new mineral deposits is small, and the demand for diamond consumption is still increasing. The imbalance between supply and demand has brought opportunities for lab-grown diamonds.

• Lab-made diamonds are more in line with environmental conservation and the new generation's pursuit of a low-carbon and environment-friendly lifestyle.
• The impact of laboratory-grown diamonds on the environment is only around 1/7 of that caused by diamond mining.
• The impact of lab-grown diamonds on the earth surface environment is about only 1/1281 of that caused by natural diamonds.
• The carbon emissions of producing and manufacturing lab diamonds are only one-and-half billionth of mining natural diamonds.
• The water consumption for lab diamonds is only one over 6.9 billion of that of natural diamonds
• The energy consumption of lab-made diamonds is only 1/2.1 of natural diamonds.



According to Bain Consulting-“Global Diamond Industry Research Report 2020-2021”, the global production of lab-made rough diamonds in 2020 is about 6-7 million carats.




Lab-grown diamonds and natural diamonds are of the same substance. From a scientific point of view, they are both composed of carbon elements, and the hardness of Morse 10. There is no difference in their physical properties and chemical composition. GIA and IGI, the two jewellery authorities, have now recognized the identity of lab diamonds as "diamonds" and can issue an identification certificate based on the 4C standard of diamonds. Not only ordinary professionals but even some testing institutions cannot identify it from natural diamonds.




Overall, lab-grown diamonds are in line with the current society's sustainable development concept. It is more in line with the younger consumers' pursuit of low-carbon and environmentally friendly lifestyles.




The process of making a memorial diamond

A memorial diamond from ash or hair

The memorial diamonds we are talking about here are diamonds processed by the HPHT method. The carbon source is the ashes or hair of a lost beloved, provided by the client, making the diamond unique in the world. The production process is divided into the following three main steps:

Purification of carbon elements from ashes or hair

Memorial diamonds are made from carbon elements extracted from the ashes or hair of people or pets. The carbon must be processed to very high purity to create jewelry-quality memorial diamonds from human and pet ashes or hair. In a laboratory environment, sterilized ashes or hair are loaded into a transparent, high-temperature induction furnace (temperature 5,400 degrees Celsius), and special instruments are used to extract the carbon. This step is vital for the manufacturing of memorial diamonds and directly determines the color of the finished memorial diamond.




Application of high-temperature and high-pressure technology (HPHT) to form a rough memorial diamond

We simulate the natural diamond formation conditions in the laboratory and let the purified and refined carbon source slowly grow into rough diamonds under a high-temperature and high-pressure environment.




Cut and polish memorial diamond roughs

Diamond cutting is a long-established heritage craft. Our company is now equipped with skilled artisans and cutting-edge tools to ensure that the cut memorial diamonds have a more brilliant fire and more considerable carat weight.