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Italian man turns son's remains into a diamond

Catherine Edwards
Catherine Edwards - [email protected]
Italian man turns son's remains into a diamond
Photo: stevendepolo/Flickr

A man whose son died aged 20 has had his remains exhumed and cremated, so that his ashes could be transformed into a diamond. The case is thought to be the first of its kind in Italy.

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The  son, who was killed in a car accident several months ago, had already been buried in his hometown in Treviso when his father came up with the idea.

The owner of a local funeral parlour told Corriere del Veneto that the 55-year-old man came across marketing material for Algordanza, a Swiss company that offers the service, when he came in to ask about funeral arrangements for his mother.

"When we explained the idea, he asked us to help him - and we did," said Silvia Zanardo, one of the partners at the funeral firm. She explained that the man didn't want to be identified, but wanted others to be made aware of the opportunity.

His son's remains were exhumed and cremated in order to undergo the transformation, and the man recently received the diamond after an eight-month waiting period.

'Remembrance diamonds' are created by filtering and refining the carbon found in cremated ashes, then secured in a chamber, where intense pressure and a temperature similar to that of a volcano are applied, creating a synthetic diamond. The cost of the process ranges from €3,500 to €13,000, depending on the finished diamond's dimensions.

Algordanza has been operating in Italy since 2009.

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