LifeGem is a Chicago-based company that makes synthetic diamonds from human or animal remains. Established as an International Research & amp; Recovery Corporation, LifeGem was the first US company to develop how to extract carbon from human remains. According to Dean VandenBiesen, speaking on The Stan and Terry Show on May 7, 2007, the company was able to create diamonds from a bunch of hair. The company was founded in 2001 by Greg Herro and Dean VandenBiesen, and was first based in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. Now headquartered in Chicago and the second office, under the name LifeGem UK, recently opened in Hove, England. In 2006, LifeGem had revenues of US $ 7.5 million. Projections for 2007 include an increase in sales of 15% to 20%. The LifeGem service is offered in over 5000 of the nearly 20,000 funeral homes in the United States.
Video LifeGem
Permata
This synthetic diamond is touted as a "warning diamond" and the price range from USD $ 3,499 for 0,20-0,29 carats (40 to 59 mg) of stones to $ 19,999 for stones weighing from 0.90 to 0.99 carats ( 180-199 mg). The company can extract enough purified carbon from a cremated human body to synthesize up to 50 gems weighing one carat (200 mg) each, or up to 100 smaller diamonds, while sending the remaining ashes to the family. A diamond made from the remains of a pet is priced the same as a diamond made from human remains, but the animal's size may be a limiting factor. According to Dean van den Biesen, when sufficient carbon is not present in the sample, extra carbon is added. In March 2005, LifeGem said it has served 1,000 customers since the establishment of the company.
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The process is
The carbon from the remains is converted to graphite after purification, from which point is placed in the diamond synthesis press. Diamonds are made through thermal gradient methods using alloys as fluxes at a pressure of 5.0-6.0 GPa and temperatures of 1,600-2,000 ° C. The entire process, from cremation to finished stone, takes up to six months to obtain the yellow LifeGem diamond and up to nine months for the LifeGem blue diamond.
Because boron impurities are present in the carbon, most of the LifeGem synthetic diamonds produced up to 2003 are Type IIb and are bright blue to medium. The inclusion of iron flux in stone also makes it a magnet. The synthesis process has been modified, and LifeGem now produces diamonds yellow, blue, white (bright), red, and green.
Three standard diamond deductions are offered to customers: Brilliant, radiant, and princess rings (the last two pieces are rectangular and square in outline, respectively). The finished stone is a laser marked identifier, judged by the gemologist, and given a signed authenticity certificate containing the LifeGem # ID. The client also gets reports with GIA serial numbers, stone color descriptions, and the fact that it is manufactured in the laboratory.
In September 2007, LifeGem announced the completion and auction of diamond Ludwig van Beethoven LifeGem - a diamond blue diamond diamond.56 ct first made from the carbon of a celebrity or historical figure. Three diamonds were created in part from 130 mg of carbon extracted from 10 strands of hair from the remnants of Ludwig van Beethoven, and partly from additional carbon. One of the three diamonds is listed for auction on eBay for US $ 1,000,000.00, with proceeds to be donated to help underprivileged children. The diamond eventually sold for US $ 202,700 after 62 bids on eBay. One of the other two diamonds was awarded to John Reznikoff, provider of Beethoven's hair samples, to be stored in the University Archives, and the last diamond saved by LifeGem to start LifeGem's "Chain of Fame".
References
Further reading
- Gallegos, D., Wolfe, R. (2005). It shines in memory. DenverPost.com . Retrieved 12th April 2005 from http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~33~2771085,00.html.
- Laurs, B. M., Overton, T. W. (2003). Synthetic Diamond LifeGem. Gems & amp; Gemology , Vol. 39 No. 1., p. 62. Gemological Institute of America.
- Novotny, M. (2005). The ultimate family gem. MSNBC News: Count down with Keith Olbermann. Retrieved 12 April 2005 from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4751684.
- Jones, N. (2006). Abu Tumpul. Hip-Hop is Dead .
External links
- LifeGem
- Heart-In Diamond
- Irisgem
- A detailed discussion of warning diamonds in the PriceScope forum
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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