![urn](http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5293bc016da8111279e01e25-602-451/urn-6.jpg?maxX=480)
Wikimedia Commons/Norbert Hüttisch, Karlsruhe
A sample of human ashes.
We first heard about the service through the film "As Above, So Below" at the $4, and were so intrigued we asked Algordanza for more details on how you can transform a human's cremated remains into a diamond.
How
Diamonds are essentially just pressurized
Since diamonds are made of carbon, and the human body is roughly 18% carbon, it's possible to transform human ashes into diamonds. Skeletal fragments are the only thing that remains after a human is cremated, and they are ground up and presented to the family in an urn.
Its possible to separate out the carbon from the other elements in the ashes and those carbon atoms can be used to mimic the natural diamond-making process in the lab. These "memorial" diamonds produced by Algordanza have the exact same physical and chemical properties as regular diamonds, according to the Algordanza website.
The
The Algordanza process
Creating a diamond from human ashes is actually pretty simple.
Each sample of ashes is first chemically analyzed. Frank Ripka, Algordanza's CTO, said this is an essential step because every country has its own traditions and laws that determine how a cremation is handled. Before any chemical alterations can be made, the non-carbon elements that get mixed in with human ashes - things like salts - are sorted out, dissolved, and then removed. This kind of cleaning process is necessary because a high-quality diamond can only form if the sample is at least 99% carbon.
But Ripka said the first cleaning is not enough. The ashes are put into a growing cell like the one in the picture below, and a catalyst made of a mixture of elements like iron and cobalt is added, which helps pull out even more contaminants from the ashes.
![Tools with Growing cell.JPG](http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5293ac2f69bedd95263ee081-1200-924/tools-with-growing-celljpg.jpg)
Algordanza/courtesy of Frank Ripka
These growing cells help remove impurities from the ashes.
The atoms bind tightly together under this extreme pressure and temperature in the same way natural diamonds form.
![growcell](http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5293b1aa69bedd26313ee082-1200-924/growcell-1.jpg)
Algordanza/courtesy of Frank Ripka
The diamond-making chamber puts the carbon from the ashes under intense pressure and heat.
A diamond that forms in a natural environment expands in all directions. These are called raw diamonds. But if the carbon is put in a growing cell, it allows technicians to grow the diamond in a predetermined shape, and that's why you can order different "cuts" of a diamond. Algordanza grows both kinds. You can see one of their raw diamonds below.
![memorial diamond](http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5293bbc96da8118c79e01e25-1027-770/memorial-diamond-2.jpg)
Algordanza/courtesy of Frank Ripka
A raw diamond created from human ashes.
How long carbon is subjected to pressure and heat determines the carat size of the diamond that forms, though there is a limit. In the lab diamond size is limited by the growing cell and the chamber that supplies the heat and pressure, so the largest diamond you can order from Algordanza is one carat.
Ripka said the process for growing diamonds in a lab is common knowledge, but there are very few experts in the field. It takes about four to six months for Algordanza to complete an order from the time the consumer places the order to the time their diamond is delivered.
"Its a kind of