All about Cremation Jewellery

The popularity of cremation as an alternative to traditional burial in Western cultures has been growing at an exponential rate over the past ten years. Whereas in the past, only a small percentage of people chose to cremate their loved ones, today, nearly half of Americans express a desire to be cremated when they die. This growing trend has led to an increase in demand for cremation jewellery.

Jewellery craftsmen have responded to customer demand for cremation jewellery by coming up with an enormous range of exquisite and creative jewellery designs made from a wide range of precious and semi-precious metals and other materials. Some of the more common materials include gold, silver, brass, bronze, pewter, titanium and stainless steel. Typically, these are hollow vessels with a discreetly hidden screw-on cap for adding a small quantity of ashes or the classic locket style pendant. In this case, users may choose to also enclose a small photograph, locket of hair, dried flowers from the funeral ceremony or other token of remembrance.

Common Types of Cremation Jewellery

While pendants and lockets designed for necklaces are probably the most popular cremation jewelry, they are by no means the only jewellery made for housing cremation ashes. Bracelets and even earrings are also popular. In each case, you can choose a design that an onlooker would only recognize as a beautiful piece of jewellery and would never guess included contents that the wearer wishes to remain private and personal.

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Containers for Cremation Jewellery

Cremation jewellery creators also realize that some individuals may not wish to wear their precious jewellery every day, but also do not want to store it with their ordinary jewelry. There are many beautiful domed containers available for displaying the jewellery when not in use. These containers may also include an area for displaying a photograph or an engraving. As tastefully designed as the cremation jewelry itself, together, the case and the jewelry make an exquisite display that does justice to the memory of the loved one.

Styles of Cremation Jewellery

The styles of cremation jewelry available are as varied as the number of people who purchase it. There are styles for men, women and children in designs ranging from the traditional to the very contemporary. Crosses are always popular, as are heart designs, teardrops and geometric shapes. One very popular style for men is the simple cylinder locket. This can be worn with a matching gold or silver chain or even a leather thong. Miniature cremation urns are also in demand and are often worn under the clothing for special occasions and then displayed in a domed container.

More elaborate jewellery designs include themes from nature, such as a dolphin or a dove. Religious and spiritual themed jewelry includes symbols such as Christian crosses, angel's wings and cherubs. Another fashionable and spiritually symbolic style is the simple yet elegant "eternity circle" or its cousin, the "8" shaped infinity symbol. Pet memorial designs include paw prints, bones or even a dog house. These are often lockets, because many people prefer to enclose small tufts or fur, soil from a burial site or sand from a beach where they frequently walked the dog instead of cremated remains.

Photo engraving and photo etching is a popular technique that is applied to gold vermeil or silver. Heart, star and geometric shaped photo engraved or etched lockets are ideal for necklaces and bracelets. Remarkably, all you have to do is email a jpeg photograph to the maker and they will produce the jewellery from that and deliver it almost as quickly as delivery of a stock item.

There are many other innovative types of cremation jewellery. For example, at least one company designs jewellery that includes microlenses of less than 3mm (1/8 inch) in diameter that magnify an embedded image by up to 160 times. Other cremation jewelry makers custom make jewellery with a small portion of the ashes mixed into the compounds of the manufacturing materials.

Sometimes also called "keepsake jewellery" or "memorial jewellery," cremation jewellery is created as a lasting memorial to a beloved animal or person in your life. Whether you choose to wear it, display it or keep it safely stored away with other mementos of the deceased, you will always treasure it as a reminder of who they were and how precious their memory is to you.