Family turns grandma into diamond
 

TORONTO, Canada (AP) -- The cremated remains of 80-year-old Edna MacArthur from Alberta have been presented to her family in the form of a diamond stone, the first delivery of this kind in the world, a funeral services official claimed Tuesday.

"This is the first presentation of a synthetic diamond made in this way," Brian Crawford, president of Edmonton-based Fountain Garden Funeral Services, told The Associated Press.

Crawford said MacArthur's remains were compressed into a 3-gram sample and flown to Italy where an Italian firm uses intense heat to incorporate the remains into carbon used to craft a diamond.

The 1/4-carat diamond was presented Monday to MacArthur's granddaughter, Tracey Somerville, and Tracey's mother, Teresa, who used to keep the cremation urn in their living room, Crawford said.

The family planned to have the stone placed in a golden ring, he said.

The quarter carat diamond cost the family $3,240 ($2,052 in U.S. dollars) which Crawford said was much cheaper than the cost of a burial with a moderately priced wooden casket. Its manufacturing process took two weeks.

Crawford said his company has already received three more orders, including a prearranged order from a living person.

Another company, the Toronto-based Images for Eternity, offers artwork incorporating cremated remains on paintings. The ashes are applied with several layers of sealant on top of the finished art.

http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/americ....ap/index.html

When someone finally puts a bullet in my back I want my skull cleaned up and mounted so it can be a family heirloom and sit on the mantlepiece....

I thought this was already done.

I think its cool they can make a synth diamond out of a dead person. Freaky man!

it really gives a different meaning to the words
"this was my grandmothers"

"Who do you think looks better with this dress.. Unlce Bob or Grandma?"

But seriously, that's a cool idea. I like it!

I could see it now,
Going to the Pawn shop and say
It's my grandmother
no really its my grandmother

lol at the pawnshop....this is a cool idea though...i think they could get a lot bigger if they got some religious groups to say they don't approve

don't approve? fuck that! i think it's a lot cooler to have your ashes compressed into a diamond than to pour them into a lake... :2 cents:

Now they can stop saying "Granny was a gem" and start saying "Granny IS a gem."

damn that's cool, now I have to decide between beeing frozen or becoming a diamond...

if I'm killed by someone, I want to be turned into a bullet, then have someone shoot them in the head... with me. That'll fucking learn them, that'll learn them good.

not a bad sentiment actually... little bit of poetic justice.


but being turned into a diamond? gross me out....

give me body to the worms.

and what do synthetic diamonds look like anyway?

they can't be as good as the 'real thing'

my husband and I talked about this when we read the story a couple days ago. He wants to be made into an egg timer. He says that it means he will be helping his friends even when he is dead. He said he wouldn't mind being a diamond but it made me uncomfortable that if I died someone might sell the diamond. Not so sure Iwant my husband being sold.

hell yeah!

now I have a reason to dig up dead relatives.

:glugglug

Uh.. you know they just threw grandma in the garbage and sold them a 1/4 carat diamond for $3200 right? :1orglaugh

Anyone remember the pilot guy that for ~$1000 would scatter your loved ones remains over the location of your choice? He got busted with hundreds of urns or something.

But I guess its cool if for 3 G's, you really think grandma is in that diamond somewhere. It's a good story to tell someone anyway.

I wouldn't believe it till I saw the website with photos of the plant, employees and the manufacturing process.