The process, began by LifeGem in England, is actually very simple. They remove 2 grams of carbon from the ashes and place it in a diamond press, exposing it to a temperature of 3,000°C and pressure up to one million pounds. In two weeks, a synthetic diamond is produced. Carat weights range from .25 to over 1.5. Celebrity craziness is nothing new, so it was no surprise when lunatic musician Pete Doherty decided to have Shelley, his cat with ex-girlfriend Kate Moss, made into a diamond. He wanted to present it to her in an effort to win back her love after they split. No word on whether or not Shelley died a natural death.Bringing the term “Crazy Cat Lady” to a whole new level, a woman decided to have her pet made into a diamond after he died suddenly at age 11. Sue Rogers, according to UK’s “The Guardian”, lost Sooty, her black cat, and wanted to keep him with her at all times. She inquired about having the diamond be black, since Sooty was. LifeGem then developed the process of exposing the diamond to electrons for 24 hours, which turned the cloudy diamond black. This has served them well, as they can now create diamonds in many colors—or even colorless.People are having non-furry family members turned into diamonds as well. Nancy Wodziak of Minnesota had her husband turned into a yellow diamond after he died of brain cancer. She was, surprisingly, the first in the state to have her husband’s remains dealt with in this way. Another woman who lost her husband let the diamond remain clear, but with flaws. She was heard to say that “…he wasn’t perfect, so why should the diamond be?” Should other loved ones balk at this new way to memorialize the deceased, there is an upside to the process. LifeGem does not use all of the ashes, so some are still available for a more traditional scattering or burial in an urn. But why do that when you can have this ‘mobile memorial’ to carry with you wherever you go?
