Are Cremation Diamonds Real or a Hoax?
Note: This article was initially published on AfterYourTime.com in April 2023. AfterYourTime.com no longer exists, but the original article lead to me receiving so many emails from people who greatly appreciated it - including CEOs of the companies in the cremation diamond “industry” - that I have chosen to republish the article here in a modified form. The article is written for an American audience.
Just days after Eterneva received a $600,000 investment from Mark Cuban on Shark Tank in 2019, critics came out to claim that turning ashes into diamonds is a scam.
This isn’t new. From what I found online, cremation diamond companies and their critics have existed since as far back as 2001. But it’s surprising the controversy over whether they are authentic, a hoax, or a scam, has lasted so long!
From what I have been able to gather, cremation diamonds are real diamonds made by applying intense pressure and temperature to carbon extracted from a deceased person’s ashes or hair. The claim that they are a hoax is incorrect.
I looked quite extensively into the companies, their claims, and the process. I feel confident saying that while the industry is not perfect, legitimate memorial diamond companies are genuinely “turning ashes to diamonds”.
Are Cremation Diamonds Real Diamonds?
Before getting deeper into the “hoax” claims, I’ll quickly address a preliminary question: Are cremation, eternal, or memorial diamonds even real diamonds?
Short answer: Yes. They are a type of lab-made diamond that is chemically, physically, and visually identical to diamonds mined in nature. They are graded by diamond assessment labs in the same way as “natural” diamonds.
As long as what you are selling is “pure carbon crystalized in the isometric system”, the same as a “natural” diamond, and something that can be verified by an organization like the Gemological Institute of America, the USA’s Federal Trade Commission gives you the thumbs up to market it as a real and genuine diamond.
Why Do Some People Claim Memorial Diamonds Are a Hoax or a Scam?
The key source that people who believe cremation diamonds are fake cite is the Cremation Diamond Fraud Report 2020 by Robert James from Global Claim Associates.
Mr James makes several claims in his report. These are the same claims repeated elsewhere on the internet by those convinced the cremation diamond industry is a scam.
In summary, the report’s claims are:
The cremation diamond industry operates with no government oversight,
Cremated ashes contain no carbon,
Carbon from outside sources is used to make cremation diamonds.
Cremation diamonds cost too much for what they are,
The promotional claims by cremation diamond companies are not verifiable.
I’ll deal with the claims one by one:
Does The Cremation Diamond Industry Operate With No Government Oversight?
No, this is kind of a nonsensical statement. Cremation diamond companies are subject to the same laws and government oversight as every other company in the country or region they operate.
In the USA, the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection has the ability to investigate cremation diamond companies, sue them if they break the law, and develop regulations for the industry.
To date, despite their heavy regulation of the jewelry industry generally, the FTC hasn’t had to sue any US- based cremation diamond companies.
Next, there is the criminal law. In most countries, scams are a crime. Selling a false product is fraud. If cremation diamonds were a scam, the amount of risk people like Adelle Archer, the founder of Eterneva, would be putting themselves under is insane.
Finally, there is civil law and judicial oversight. Anyone who has bought a cremation diamond and believes it’s a fake could sue the company that made it for misrepresentation. If the scam was company or industry wide, lawyers would jumping at the opportunity for a class action lawsuit.
As of today, this hasn’t happened.
Do Cremated Ashes Contain Carbon?
The report’s second claim is that cremated ashes don’t contain the carbon required to “grow” diamonds.
The logic set out is as follows:
“Diamonds are pure, crystallized carbon.”
“Carbon is a main ingredient in the human body, making up approximately 18% of the total weight of the human body.”
“Carbon burns at 1405°F.”
“Cremation furnaces operate in a temperature range of 1600°F to 1800°F.”
“The cremation process destroys all traces of carbon-based matter and leaves no residual carbon with which to create a diamond.”
Statements 1 – 4 are true. Statement 5 is not. The cremation process does not destroy all traces of carbon.
Just because a cremation chamber reaches temperatures of 1,800°F does not mean that all matter in a cremation chamber also reaches temperatures of 1,800°F.
Around 1 – 4% of carbon in the human body survives cremation, as demonstrated by a 2011 study published in Forensic Science International, which found residual carbon in the form of calcium carbonates from bones in ashes resulting from temperatures above 1,800°F.
After cremation, most of what is left over is carbon-containing bones. These are then pulverized into what most people recognize as cremation ashes.
According to Jonathan Jarry, MSc for the non-profit McGill Office for Science and Society, it is “undeniable” that carbon survives cremation.
From there, you extract that carbon into graphite, which there are many ways of doing, and you have the material you need to create a diamond the same way as any other lab grown diamond.
Is Carbon From Outside Sources Also Used?
This claim is that the companies don’t just use the carbon from cremated remains in growing their diamonds but also use other sources of carbon to supplement it.
In some cases, this is true – but it’s not something cremation diamond brands try to hide, and it’s not something that makes them a scam.
For example, after the carbon extraction process, if Algordanza does not obtain enough carbon to create a diamond of the desired size, they offer a “two source” solution. This allows customers to provide supplementary sources of carbon (such as meaningful possessions of their deceased loved one) as part of the diamond-making process.
Are Cremation Diamonds Overpriced?
The next “scam” accusation is that cremation diamonds are expensive.
This is probably true, but something being expensive does not a scam make.
If it did, we could call the entire funeral industry a scam. Caskets at funeral homes are marked up by crazy amounts.
Most “normal” lab diamonds are cheap because they are made overseas using the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. According to the Gemological Institute of America, this is an affordable way to make lab diamonds in bulk.
Cremation diamonds cannot be made in bulk. Each diamond needs to be made individually using the graphite collected in the carbon extraction process. This is done using a high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) machine, and is more expensive.
Not only is the HPHT process expensive, but there are many other costs associated with creating cremation diamonds that don’t apply to typical lab grown diamonds. Alongside not being able to make their diamonds in bulk, most companies:
Take on the risk involved with handling something so important to people, and implementing the processes to keep cremains safe, tracked, and secure;
Provide a personal service with high levels of transparency to ensure customers know they are in safe hands, including providing phone calls, videos, and photos through the diamond growing process;
Incur the costs involved with extracting carbon from a deceased’s person’s ashes, which is an involved laboratory process;
Employ well-paid local staff to carry out all of the above.
If a competitor wants to enter the market and do it all cheaper, they can.
Are The Promotional Claims by Cremation Diamond Companies unverifiable?
The final claim made by people who claim cremation diamonds are a scam is that even if ashes do contain carbon, and even if that carbon could be turned into diamonds, you shouldn’t believe the companies that claim to do it regardless.
Of course, the same logic applies to cremation itself: When you give a body to a crematorium, how do you know the ashes you get back are from your lost loved one?
While it would be technically possible to verify that cremated remains were actually used to create a particular diamond, I understand the science would be quite involved, and something most people aren’t going to do.
So there is a certain level of trust involved in the process.
However, there are companies out there with years of a spotless reputation. These include Eterneva and Algordanza.
All these companies have publicly facing founders putting their personal reputations on the line for their companies.
Addressing Specific Accusations Made Against LifeGem Cremation Diamonds
As an aside, the Diamond Fraud Report 2020 singles out LifeGem specifically and makes a few claims about their trustworthiness. Touching on them broadly:
Claim: Back in 2007, LifeGem used some stock photos on their website which were misleading to customers.
Fact: Most companies use stock photos on their websites. Further, there is no evidence that the photos were in fact “stock photos” – they may been provided by the lab that processed the diamonds for LifeGem back in 2007 when they were starting up.
Claim: The HPHT machines that LifeGem claims to use to make their diamonds are hydraulic presses that can’t be used to make diamonds.
Fact: Hydraulic pressure can be used to create diamonds
What You Would Have to Believe to Accept that Cremation Diamonds are a Hoax
All things considered, it seems pretty clear to me that cremation diamonds from reputable companies are real diamonds made from human ashes.
To accept otherwise, I would have to believe:
The FTC, which has taken never taken any enforcement action against any cremation diamond company, has fallen for the hoax, and
Thousands of customers over the past 20 years have fallen for the hoax, and
The Gemological Institute of America has fallen for the hoax, and
People like Adelle Archer, the founder of Eterneva, are risking decades in prison and losing their entire wealth to pretend to do something that they have the machines to do for real anyway.
Possible? Perhaps. But unlikely.