Pets hold a special place in our hearts, and their unconditional love brings immense joy to our lives. When they pass away, we are inconsolable. There is a way, however, for owners to treasure their pets beyond the grave – through a pet memorial diamond. Set in jewellery, these exquisite sparkling mementos not only celebrate the bond shared with a furry friend but also serve as a tangible reminder of their cherished presence even after they are gone.
A memorial diamond is a diamond created from carbon extracted from cremated ashes, hair or a combination of ashes and hair. Since it serves to immortalise the memory of a loved one, Hong Kong pet owners have wholeheartedly embraced this trend, recognising the value of preserving the emotional connection with their companions in a refined and tangible manner.
As cremation diamonds have become a burgeoning industry around the world including Hong Kong, numerous retailers have sprung up to cater to the demand for these precious jewellery keepsakes. Local jewellery shops are also offering specialised collections and bespoke services to meet the diverse needs of pet owners.
Algordanza
Established in Switzerland in 2004, Algordanza has steadily become a global enterprise. Its name, which stems from the Rhaeto-Romanic word for ‘remembrance’, is a fitting title for a company that is dedicated to preserving the special memories of a lost loved one in a unique way. They need 300 to 400 grams of your pet’s ashes or 11 grams of their fur, which is sent to their Swiss labs where experts begin the process of extracting pure carbon to create a diamond.
Algordanza’s Swiss-made cremation diamonds are 100% crafted from a pet’s ashes or hair – no extra carbon is sourced or artificial colouring added. Delivery takes from four to nine months depending on the complexity of the design.
Heart In Diamond
Natural diamonds must grow for more than one billion years deep under the Earth’s crust, but fortunately, you don’t need to wait for this long to receive your unique memorial gemstone. At Heart In Diamond, it takes only from 75 to 120 days on average to produce a customised cremation diamond. This production time is one of the fastest in the market, and their prices are relatively affordable, too.
Founded in 2005 in the UK, Heart In Diamond’s vision is to help people all around the world by producing a true and lasting reminder of a loved one. The expert team extracts carbon from an original sample (whether it’s hair, ashes or an alternative organic material) and adds it to the diamond core foundation. Shortly after, the foundation is placed in an HPHT (High Pressure, High Temperature) machine that recreates, in the lab, the process of natural diamond creation with the help of extreme temperatures of 2,000°C and pressure levels of 60,000 atmospheres.
Prices start from HK$8,000 for 0.03 carats and rise to HK$156,000 for a two-carat stone. en.heart-in-diamond.hk
Petmento
Hong Kong-based pet memorial diamond venture Petmento emphasises simplicity when communicating with clients. Each item is then crafted accordingly with skilful devotion to the finest detail and the highest possible standard, creating gemstones or other mementos such as ornaments that keep alive the memory of a pet. The animal’s image or silhouette can be incorporated into some designs.
Specialists in their Hong Kong workshop first use a unique technology to purify the ashes by removing unwanted substances. At least 10 grams of ashes are required, and these are homogenised with biogenic ingredients and fused at a temperature of more than 800°C into ash gems. Natural stone colours include white, grey and green, while occasionally the fusion produces a darker hue. Petmento’s Rainbow collection provides a spectrum of colours to choose from.
Prices start from HK$6,500. / Prices for gemstones start from HK$7,800 or $11,800 for a pendant. petmento.hk
Lonité
For pet owners who want to go the extra mile to preserve memories of their furry friends, Lonité could be the answer. Their memorial journey started in a small town near the Swiss Alps, a 25-minute train ride south of Zürich, where the company founders harnessed advancements in lab-grown diamond techniques to turn ashes into diamonds.
The name ‘Lonité’ originates from ‘longévité’ in Swiss French and nods to the precious timelessness of their lab-grown creations. Today, they offer 10 options of diamond cut and five colour choices. The most popular colour is amber, which is also the most basic. Their Naturally Amber shade is achieved from ashes with no added micro-elements or special technical treatments, hence the production costs and creation time are lower. Owners generally request that the ash diamond is set in a ring, or perhaps a pendant or a pair of earrings, so they can keep their pet who has passed close to them at all times.
Prices start from about HK$13,000 for .25 carats and increase to $180,000 for a three-carat diamond. lonite.com.hk
In a world where pets hold such significant places in our lives, pet diamond mementos have become more than just jewellery – they embody love, companionship and the enduring bond between humans and their most faithful companions.