Lifegem Snapshot
International Research & Recovery Corporation puts your sparkling personality to work -- albeit postmortem. The company, which primarily does business as LifeGem, creates diamonds from the cremated remains of humans and animals. LifeGem sells memorial diamonds, which cost $3,000 and up. When a LifeGem is ordered, the company sends a specially made carbon collection machine to the funeral home to capture the soon-to-be diamond material. The created diamonds are inspected and graded by trained gemologists. The Herro and VandenBiesen brothers formed the company in 2001 after three years of R&D looking for a unique way to memorialize a loved one or pet.