A W Lymn The Family Funeral Service has helped a family from Nottinghamshire to grow a real-life diamond from their loved one’s cremated remains.

After her husband died, a woman who lives near Bingham (who wishes to remain anonymous) wanted to create a lasting reminder.

She said: “When you lose your loved one, especially as quickly as I did, you are desperate to keep the connection. It is not just about the memories, you miss the person physically.”

After A W Lymn explained the option of turning ashes into a diamond, which she could then put into a ring, she felt it would be perfect.

“I didn’t even know it was possible to keep part of the ashes in the form of a diamond. But it felt right for me, as my husband did buy me diamonds and other rings. More importantly, I and his friends often described my husband as a real diamond. The thought of part of him being close to me for as long as I live, and then being able to stay in the family, felt right.”

The family funeral directors work in partnership with Heart in Diamond, which specialises in creating genuine diamonds from carbon extracted from cremated ashes.

On receiving the ring, the woman said: “I am very grateful to Lymns, they arranged everything, it was all done with the utmost respect, and the funeral directors were so supportive all the way.

“The ring arrived the day before Valentines. I broke down in tears, it was part of my husband brought back to me. He is with me all the time.”

Despite having offered the ashes-to-diamonds option for several years, this is the first time the 116-year-old family funeral directors have been asked by a customer to progress with the service.

Funeral Director Dominic Lister, who arranged the diamond ring, said: “Traditionally ashes used to be scattered at the garden of remembrance at a crematorium, a place where people could go back to. But as time changed, people began taking them away, scattering them somewhere meaningful or even holding onto them and travelling around with them.

“What we are noticing now, is the increasing number of families looking to turn the ashes into something they can keep close to them, such as jewellery, cufflinks, and even put into ink used in tattoos.”