Pressure Makes Diamonds: Turning Ashes into Everlasting Beauty

A diamond requires a certain amount of pressure to bring it fully to life. Without this pressure, diamonds couldn’t exist. 

The pressure used to make a diamond is from the weight of the air above that is pulled down by gravity. Additional pressure is coming from inside the Earth, from the rocks and soil. Therefore, both sides are feeling the tension. 

Lab Grown Diamonds vs. HPHT Process

There is a difference between a lab-grown and cremation diamond—this is what makes Eterneva so unique. 

Lab-grown diamonds can be made in a Carbon Vapor Deposition machine, which means multiple diamonds are created at once. In a CVD setting, some diamonds grow bigger than others and it also uses much lower amounts of temperature and pressure.

At Eterneva, we use a High-Pressure High-Temperature machine that allows us to create these masterpieces one at a time. With the HPHT process, we know ahead of time what the stone’s cut, color, and size will be and create it to those exact specifications. When lab-grown diamonds began in the 1950s, it was through the HPHT system. 

There are three types of HPHT machines: bars, cubic, and a belt press. These machines still replicate the perfect temperature and pressure that is required and only create one diamond at a time. The way the pressure is applied is what makes these machines different. In the 1950s, the belt press was the first type created and led to the development of the cubic press. The cubic press cannot be as easily scaled and the bars machine is able to achieve higher temperatures at a faster rate. 

How Eterneva Crafts Your Memorial Diamond

Welcome Kit and Personalized Support

The Welcome Kit is where the journey with us at Eterneva begins. Majority of people who choose to work with us, start with a phone call to one of our representatives. This allows any questions to be answered, see what welcome kit may be best for your vision, and begin building trust if you choose to work with us. 

If you are ready to order a Welcome Kit, it will be sent to your home, with all the instructions needed to move forward, and what to expect as we work together to create this masterpiece that honors your loved one. We do have people who know exactly what they want and order a welcome kit online right away, then we follow up with our first phone call. 

We recognize how valuable this initial conversation is with our team, and we enjoy getting to know you and the loved one you are honoring, on an intimate level. 

Usually, at this stage of the process, it is the beginning of mourning over your loved one. We hope the connections that are created with us are a stepping stone for you to continue to share stories of them so that their memory can continue to live. 

Carbon Purification 

After we receive the ashes or hair at our facility, the carbon purification process begins to remove any element other than carbon. Here, we use high heat and no oxygen plus an inert gas. 

We send updates at each stage of the diamond-making journey, so you know exactly what’s happening.

An Eterneva technician will send a video when the ashes enter the crucible and when it’s opened for the first time to see the carbon powder. We take the time to include you on these milestones so that you feel with us in the lab, next to your loved one the whole way through. 

This can take two months to complete. Next, the carbon is ground into smaller particles so that we can move forward with growing a diamond. 

We pray the transparency along the way provides a glimpse of hope, while you are mourning and learning what your new reality looks like. 

Diamond Growth

You might be wondering, how are we able to grow a diamond in a lab, when it needs such intensity in heat and pressure to form? We have a growth machine that replicates the Earth’s diamond-making process.

It takes around 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit and 825,000 pounds per square inch in pressure. Add in the carbon and the diamond seed that provides the foundation, to form a raw diamond. We process each loved one’s carbon on its own because each carbon has its own makeup. Our technicians work specifically with each carbon to find the perfect union of heat, pressure and time, in our HPHT machine. 

Sometimes we have to grow a diamond a few times until it’s perfected to your exact design. If we find any inclusions, we may put the diamond through another cycle in the HPHT machine, or we will cut around it during the next stage. 

Diamond Quality Assessment

Just like when the carbon powder is opened for the first time, we will send you a video when your diamond makes its exit out of our machine. Now, we focus on quality, to ensure we give our utmost attention to the diamond and deliver what we have promised. 

We check the diamond for any inclusions and will cut around any flaws we find, to make the perfect jewel. We want to make sure this step is flawless, so the amount of time it can take varies from diamond to diamond. 

Diamond Cutting

Now that we have completed our assessment of the raw diamond, our experts in Antwerp, Belgium, will hand cut the diamond in the exact shape desired. 

There is sophistication required at this step. Our master cutters really know how to make these diamonds shine in this month-long process. They use computer software that depicts the largest carat option of the stone and the best angles to cut while eliminating any inclusions. 

Diamond Certification and Personalization

We get all the diamonds certified and inspected at the International Gemological Institute, as they evaluate the clarity, color, and quality. This is the stage where we can engrave a microscopic personal message on the diamond that you can share with your loved one forever. 

Some people choose to color their diamond, and if so, that is the next step and can take between one and three months to complete. You can work with one of our Eterneva jewelers, or we will send you the gem to complete the setting with your own jeweler. 

Choosing the Memorial Jewelry Setting

There are a variety of options you can choose as the setting for your memorial diamond. Whether it’s a necklace, ring, or bracelet, choose something that you’ll love to wear every day so you can keep your loved one close to you. We can help bring your vision to life so that it’s a piece of jewelry you’ll cherish forever. 

Back Home to You

We know this process has taken months and we hope the milestones shared along the way made a difference in your healing, even if small. We adore our relationship with you and are honored that trust has been cultivated during our time together. 

For someone who lives near our facility in Austin, Texas, we often hand-deliver the diamond to your doorstep and have the chance to physically meet you face to face. Otherwise, anyone who is farther away will receive their diamond personally—delivered from FEDEX—with complete transparency into tracking and safekeeping. 

Eterneva Memorial Diamonds

At Eterneva, we create diamonds grown from your loved one's ashes or hair. Cremation diamonds, or memorial diamonds, are the step-by-step process that we explained above. We also have various options around financing your diamond selection, and happy to share that information if you’re interested. The time, love, and resources that go into your 100% real diamonds is our expertise! 

At Eterneva, we pride ourselves on creating a memorial diamond to your exact specification, while guiding you on a healing journey to honor your loved one in a bright and meaningful way.