LifeGems: Ashes, Diamonds and the Meatphysics of Presence
LifeGems: Ashes, Diamonds and the Meatphysics of Presence

Summary/Abstract: Ashes to ashes, diamonds to diamonds. LifeGem, a company offering the controversial services of transforming human ashes into synthetic diamonds, was established in 2001, in Chicago, Illinois. These services are deemed controversial because Polish people are well aware of the history of Nazi concentration camps where human bodies where transformed into soap; controversial, because they bring to mind associations with necrophilia; controversial, because they convey an image of affluent Americans’ consumerism and snobbishness. Yet when we look at the motives of the actual individuals who order these services and the testimonials collected by the author, we cans see that to them these synthetic diamonds are an expression of physical closeness to the loved ones that they have lost and that they help fill the painful void left after their deaths. A mother who has lost a son in a fatal accident is able to say that “his existence will never be completely closed”. The diamond maintains an intimate connection with the deceased person contrary to the separateness of a grave or ashes kept in an urn. The memory of a beloved person takes on a physical expression in everyday life. A LifeGem is a certified high quality diamond created from the carbon within the ashes of your loved one… Each LifeGem, as a celebration of life, tells a unique story and represents a new beginning. With the closeness offered only by a LifeGem, you will have your loved one with you and in your life at all times.

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