CREATING YOUR PERSONAL LIFEGEM® (headlines)

The process that starts from separating a part of the ashes and finally transforms into a LifeGem® Memorial Diamond, contains several steps. Innovative techniques combined with the highest possible amount of safety and control measures ultimately gives LifeGem the opportunity to offer you a personal diamond that exceeds nature. Because no matter how beautiful and expensive natural diamonds are and will be, they will never be able to compete with a LifeGem® Memorial Diamond that contains the essence of your loved that has died. A LifeGem® Memorial Diamond is more than a memorial, more than a diamond...

Every step of our state of the art creation process will be explained below.

Step 1>: Separating a part of the ashes
After your LifeGem Advisor has informed you about our process and the options LifGem® is able to offer, a relatively small amount of the ashes will be separated from the total amount of ashes available, using special package materials to store the separated ashes in a self sealing container.Your LifeGem Advisor simultaneously takes care for the protocolized administration, registration and identification.  The ashes together with a signed orderform, a copy of your ID and an orginal death certificate will be sent to our headoffice of LifeGem Europe in Zundert (The Netherlands).

LifeGem Europe first takes care for some elementary controls and administration. They will also be confirming your order and setting up the tracking and tracing facilities which will give you the opportunity to track and trace your order using a secure location on the Internet. Afterwards, the ashes together with the necessary documents will be transported to LifeGem® in the United States using a thrustworthy and credible transportation partner who takes extra care for the packages we send. As soon as the ashes arrive at LifeGem® in the United States, again elementary controls will be applicable.

 
- carbon fragments within the ashes -

Step 2> Extracting and purifying the carbon
In the United States the carbon extraction and purificaton takes place. To separate the carbon from all other elements present within the ashes (mainly minerals), all other elements besides carbon will be destroyed. This process contains 2 similar steps of extracting and purifying and finally results in an amount of pure carbon that becomes 'graphite'. This extraction and purification process - like all processes we take for - are being accompanied with thorough safety and control activities.

 
- carbon -

Step 3> Pressing the carbon into a rough diamond
At one of our diamond press laboratories - Lifegem® worldwide uses the facilities of the most well respected and thrustworthy facilities available in the United States as well as in Europe - an amount of purified carbon will be placed into the diamond press. Note: it's not the amount of carbon that increases the weight of the rough diamond, but the durance of the pressing process. The longer this process takes, the heavier the rough diamond becomes. This diamond press - using high pressure/high temperature - copies the incredible forces of nature and presses the carbon into a rough diamond.

 
- rough Lifegem® Memorial diamonds -

Step 4> : Cutting, polishing, certifying and identifying your LifeGem®
The roughs that come out of the diamond press at one of our European diamond press laboratories, will be cut and polished in Antwerp - the diamond capital of the world - in a shape you did choose. Afterwards they will be certified (personal certificate of authentication) and identified (engraving your Lifegem® using a cold laser technique). 

 
- LifeGem ID engraved into the girdle -

Step 5>: Setting your LifeGem® into a piece of jewelry
Also in Antwerp, we will take care for putting your LifeGem® Memorial Diamond into the setting of your choice. Note: when you have decided to get a microscopic photo of the engravement, this has te be done before setting first. Now your LifeGem® Memorial Diamond has finished and will be delivered personally from Antwerp to one of our representatives at our headoffice in Zundert (The Netherlands).

 
- LifeGem® Memorial Diamonds set in a pendant and ring-

Step 6>: Personal delivery
After inspection and registration, your LifeGem® Memorial Diamond will be safely transported from our headoffice to your personal LifeGem Advisor. He/she will contact you to make an appointment to personally handing you over your most special and unique memorial available. This very special moment will always be very special for us and our advisors as well...

How long does it take to get a LifeGem® Memorial Diamond of my loved one?
The total amount of time it takes to create your LifeGem® Memorial Diamond is depending from several aspects. For instance: the carat weight you desire, the color you desire, wether you do or don not want a microscopic picture, etc. All these aspects and several others influence the total process time directly. Based upon our experiences over 3 years of creating and delivering LifeGem® Memorial Diamonds, we can say it will take in between 18 to 26 weeks as an average. 

Meanwhile you will be able to track and trace your personal creation process using a secure webpage on the Internet that only you are able to enter. This way you will be able to see the progress we are making and what will be the estimated time before you will receive your LifeGem® Memorial Diamond.