One of the exhibitors at the 2013 ICCFA convention and expo was Mevisto, a company based in Austria that specializes in creating gem stones from cremated remains and hair from humans or pets.
Mevisto extracts various substances from the cremated remains or strands of hair to make colorful sapphires or rubies. They can make the gems a specific color by adding certain elements. Each stone is cut by hand, expertly polished and worked into jewelry, if so desired.
Rubies and sapphires are members of the corundum family of minerals. They consist of aluminum oxide.
Elements of iron, titanium and chromium help determine the color.
It takes approximately 10 grams of hair and/or 150 grams of cremated remains to create a Mevisto ruby or sapphire.
In this video, Johann Urbanek with Mevisto shows some of the gems on display and talks about the process to make them.
For more information, visit www.Mevisto.eu.