Cremation Keepsakes & Jewelry
Once a loved one’s ashes are returned to you, you may wonder what to do with them. How best to honor your special person? If you’d like to formally lay a loved one’s ashes to rest, a cremation cemetery option—such as a niche, columbarium or urn burial—may be your choice. Or you may prefer to scatter the ashes in a place of personal significance. More adventurous tributes include burying ashes at sea or sending ashes into space.
No matter what you choose, you may also want to hold onto a tangible remembrance of your loved one after their memorial service. This is where cremation jewelry and keepsakes come in.
Cremation jewelry incorporates a small portion of a loved one’s ashes into wearable works of art, such as a brilliant memorial diamond or a charm bracelet.
Keepsakes are one-of-a-kind items that creatively highlight a loved one’s life. They may include a custom urn for display on your mantel, a book filled with photos and memories or even a vinyl record.
Your Dignity Memorial® funeral director can show you cremation jewelry and keepsake options that fit your budget and style. Though not all products mentioned in this article are available from our funeral homes, many are. There are also many more not covered here.
Cremation jewelry
Cremation jewelry allows you to honor a loved one and hold their memory close. These timeless pieces may take the form of pendants for necklaces, charms for bracelets, earrings or rings. They may be personalized with engravings, symbols or other details to reflect your loved one’s personality, hobbies or pastimes.
Each piece of cremation jewelry uses a small portion of ashes, which means multiple family members can have treasured pieces to wear, connecting everyone with their loved one as well as those who loved them.
Jewelry that holds a loved one’s ashes
Capsule, urn and cremation pendant jewelry holds a small portion of ashes. These wearable remembrances come in a variety of contemporary designs that let you express your own style while honoring your loved one’s legacy. Options range from handsome braided leather bracelets to sleek pendant necklaces, earrings and bracelets crafted in lasting materials like sterling silver, 14-karat gold, mother-of-pearl and stainless steel. Some choices come in matching sets.
Beads and charms allow you to personalize jewelry and represent your loved one or your relationship. For example, in remembrance of a dad who was a Christian and who served in the Army, you could combine a sterling silver cross charm holding ashes with a medallion representing the armed forces. For a mom who loved to travel and cultivate her rose garden you could choose to have a bracelet made from porcelain beads handpainted with roses that has an airplane charm and a heart charm that holds her ashes.
Fingerprint jewelry
No two people—not even identical twins—have the same fingerprints. A pendant featuring your loved one’s unique thumbprint in sterling silver is an enduring memorial. Memorial fingerprint pendants come in a variety of shapes and settings, including a heart, oval, teardrop or cross. Those who wear fingerprint jewelry say that touching the fingerprint provides comfort and connection. Fingerprint jewelry isn’t exclusive to cremation—it’s also a popular choice of families whose loved ones choose traditional burial.
If you prefer something other than jewelry, a stainless steel buck knife with your loved one's fingerprint is also an option.
Other kinds of cremation jewelry
There are other options for remembrance jewelry beyond bracelet charms, necklace pendants with ashes and fingerprint jewelry. Memorial diamonds, crafted by applying heat and pressure to the carbon within ashes, are a stunning way to honor a loved one. These precious stones can be set into the jewelry of your choice. Enduring and versatile, memorial diamond pendants, earrings, rings and bracelets are designed for daily wear and make perfect family heirlooms.
Dog tags are another beautiful way to remember a loved one, particularly a veteran. These can carry a fingerprint or be inscribed with your loved one’s name, the coordinates of the location of their ashes or other details that help you feel connected. Like fingerprint jewelry, dog tags can be a remembrance option for all families, including those who choose traditional burial.
Jewelry that incorporates a favorite picture of a loved one, such as a locket, projection necklace or photo pendant, has been a cherished way to memorial a loved one since the invention of photography.
Cremation keepsakes
Cremation jewelry is just one of many ways to honor a loved one in a tangible, personalized way. Although an urn is the traditional choice for holding a loved one’s ashes, there are other special keepsakes. As with nontraditional funeral services, new and creative memorial options for ashes have become increasingly popular.
If you’re looking for a creative memorialization, below are a few ideas.
Keepsake urns
Families often divide a loved one's ashes among miniature urns, allowing several members to have ashes to hold onto. These urns are easily personalized and available in a range of materials and styles.
Memory Glass
It's easy to incorporate ashes into blown glass. Memory Glass craftspeople produce glass orbs swirled with a loved one's ashes in a broad array of colors, from slate gray to daffodil yellow to patriotic patterns.
Tattoos
Commemorative tattoos are very common, and some people take the idea a step further by having a small amount of ashes mixed with tattoo ink and hiring a tattoo artist to create a lasting remembrance on their skin.*
Vinyl records
A music lover might have relished the idea of becoming a vinyl record. Companies that produce these keepsakes press ashes into records with a personal message, song or the sounds of silence.*
Cremation stones
At least one company will take a loved one's ashes and press them into smooth stones. The stones can be placed in a garden, shared with others, displayed at home or carried around in your pocket.*
Memorial portraits
Similar to tattoo artists, some painters will mix ashes into oil paint and then create a portrait of a loved one that can become a cherished family heirloom.*
Memorial toys
For families who’ve lost children, having a small amount of ashes in a cuddly stuffed toy, like a bear, bunny or puppy, may offer comfort to parents and siblings alike.*
Ordering cremation jewelry and keepsakes
Cremation jewelry and other keepsakes allow you to keep the memory of your loved one near. Whether it’s a pendant containing your mom’s ashes, a signet ring imprinted with your father’s thumbprint, or a glass orb with your brother’s ashes you keep on your desk, these items provide ongoing comfort and can be cherished for generations.
Your funeral director can order many of these keepsakes for you. Just let us know which speaks to your heart.
*Not available at Dignity Memorial providers.
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Get your free cremation planning guide
We know that planning a cremation isn’t something families do every day. It’s important to understand that all providers are not the same. A Guide for Families Choosing Cremation gives you the information and facts you need to choose the best provider for your family’s needs.
Get your free guide for families choosing cremation
We know that planning a cremation isn’t something families do every day. It’s important to understand that all providers are not the same. A Guide for Families Choosing Cremation gives you the information and facts you need to choose the best provider for your family’s needs.