Bootiful Earrings

When I was young I seemed to lack the simple ability to look after my pets. My first set of goldfish died within two days, and my rabbit only lasted around six months – instead of telling me that he had died, my Dad said that he had run away,causing me to have nightmares for years that Champ would have been attacked by a pack of hungry rats. The memory of these animals still remains with me, but they were never around long enough for me to form any lasting attachment that makes me want to preserve their memory in any solid shape or form.


Yet a process that was originally pioneered in America seems to be attracting some interest from bereaved pet owners in the UK. Recently a Westcountry woman, Sue Rogers, had the remains of her two dogs, and her cat made into blue-tinted diamond. Costing over £3,000 it is certainly not a cheap process, but it does mean that she has a unique diamond to remind her of her lost pets.

I was first alerted to this technique on an advert for a well known vodka company, a story of how even an ugly man can be turned into a “girl's best friend” if he has his remains turned into a diamond. At the time I did not even realise that this was a real process, but companies such as LifeGem offer this exact service to the general public. However, watching the advert makes me think that maybe the money would have been better spent buying a bottle of vodka and having a good wake instead.

The main interesting aspect of this process is the possibility that any animal that has been cremated, as long as it has a skeleton or hair, can be turned into a diamond. I immediately thought of the recent poultry culls that have happened in Suffolk, and the 160,000 birds that were gassed. What should be done with the carcases? Couldn't the Government invest in a diamond producing plant, and then they could recycle the cremated birds and have an exportable resource in return. They could then use this money to compensate the farmers, who I'm sure would be very grateful for the money (although maybe they would rather have the diamonds instead).

On an international scale the Government could even claim that they also helping to combat the illegal trade of diamonds that causes so much blood shed in Africa. By creating our own diamonds, companies can obtain the stones from legitimately controlled sources, thereby reducing the amount of illegally traded diamonds within the industry.

Sue Rogers and her diamond cat and dogs, show just what can be possible by utilising cutting edge technology and 200g of animal ash. If the Government wants to make the best of a bad situation then maybe looking at carbon processing will provide with an answer as to how to turn a health hazard into something truly “bootiful”.