A grieving mother has ensured that her late son will always be with her - by turning his ashes into a diamond. Ulrike Dieter from Falkensee in Germany now intends to have the gem fitted into a ring so that it is always close to her. Once her son's body had been cremated his ashes were taken to Chur in Switzerland. Here a company called Algordanza took several months to turn them into a matchstick head-sized, blue-tinted stone. The 0.7 carat gem was created in a machine that can reach temperatures of 2,500 degrees Celsius and assert an immense pressure of up to 60,000 bar.

Credit : Action Press / Rex Features