From death to diamonds: turning ashes of loved ones into diamonds

Austin: What if you could turn the ashes of your loved ones into precious jewellery? That is exactly what the Austin-based startup Eterneva claims to do, and has now garnered a backing of a fund of $10 million.

Grieving is hard, and everyone processes their loss in their own way. It is a painful experience to go through, especially now with the pandemic taking a loved one from so many people around the globe. Every person wishes to memorialise their loved ones in one way or another. And while funerals and cremations are the more commonplace to-go for remembering your lost loved ones, an American startup has generated a backing of over $10 million dollars to turn the remains of people’s loved ones or pets into diamonds.

Eterneva, an Austin-based American startup, has decided to chuck the traditional caskets, tombstones, and urns. Eterneva uses cremated ashes or hair of loved ones or pets, and turns it into diamond jewellery. The company only makes diamonds, claiming that it is the brightest and the most precious stone with a long lasting connection. In fact, it raised $10 million in Series A funding round led by Tiger Management with participation from Goodwater Capital, Capstar Ventures, NextCoast Ventures and Dallas billionaire Mark Cuban.. Reaching a triple-digit growth in sales, the startup created nearly 1,500 diamonds for over 1,000 customers.

“We view ourselves as the complete opposite tone of everything else in this space,” said Adelle Archer, co-founder of Eterneva. “A lot of people are trying to solve planning and logistics around the end of life. We’re about helping people move forward, and building a platform for the celebration of life.”

However, Eterneva isn’t the only brand offering an ashes-to-diamonds service. The first jewellery memorialisation was in 2001 by LifeGem. Traditional lab-grown diamonds are made using carbon and a machine called carbon vapor deposition machine. Since then, various other companies have replicated the process, including the Swiss-based companies Algordanza and Lonite, UK-based company Heart-In-Diamond, and the US-based companies Eterneva and Saint Diamond.

“[People] want personalization and meaning,” said Archer. “We plan to evolve the platform with different products and services down the road.”