Cremation Jewelry for Ashes of Loved Ones
Cremation jewelry is a beautiful way to keep the memory of your loved ones alive. At Spirit Pieces, we’re proud to offer 1,000+ items of unique jewelry handcrafted with cremation ash. Each Spirit Piece is made specifically for you with care and respect so you can hold your loved ones close to your heart, even after their passing.
Browse glass cremation pendants with flowers, stunning silver urn necklaces, memorial rings, and our curated collections to discover the perfect way to commemorate your loved one's spirit.
The story behind Spirit Pieces’ cremation jewelry
In 2014, company founder and owner Dave Blake was inspired to create Spirit Pieces after the death of his Grandmother. He wanted to help other people grieving over the loss of their loved ones, family members, and pets with beautiful handmade cremated ashes jewelry
Now over eight years later, we work with a network of artists to bring you the best of cremation jewelry with ashes. We're proud to offer you a variety of unique cremation jewelry and of our growing community with 13,800+ customers providing five-star testimonials.
What is cremation jewelry?
Cremation jewelry is a wearable keepsake made using a small amount of your loved one's ashes. Artisans infuse the cremains into earrings, pendants, necklaces, bracelets, and other jewelry products. People invest in these jewelry designs to continue feeling connected with someone who has passed. Other names for cremation jewelry include "memorial jewelry" or "keepsake jewelry."
The history of cremation jewelry
Gifting or wearing remembrance jewelry to honor the departed and cherish their memory has been a feature of human existence for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. But we can trace the origins of cremation jewelry back to the late 16th Century.
16th century: memento mori jewelry
Memento mori jewelry became popular in the 1500s. "Memento mori" is a Latin phrase that translates as "remember you must die." Memento mori served as a reminder to reflect upon the fragility of life. And in a deeply religious time, to pray for loved ones in this life and those who had passed.
Items of memento mori jewelry included brooches, pendants, and rings featuring skulls, bones, or coffins. The pieces sometimes had engraved messages and names of the deceased and were typically gifted by close friends and relatives to comfort grieving families.
17th century: mourning rings
By the mid to late 1600s, memento mori jewelry (specifically rings) evolved into "mourning rings." These rings featured engravings of a loved one's name, age, birth, death date, and in some cases, poignant inscriptions. These pieces were generally less stoic and more personalized than their memento mori counterparts.
You can see the evolution to this gentler form of remembrance in a 17th-century mourning ring housed in the British Museum. The ring's 'A deare frend gift' engraving is a far cry from the memento mori sentiments of the 16th century.
18th and 19th century: mourning jewelry evolves
Towards the end of the 18th Century, goldsmiths and artisans of the Romantic era who were inspired by "mourning rings" of the past began to craft entire ranges of "mourning jewelry."
In Victorian England, Queen Victoria popularized grief jewelry. After the death of Prince Albert in 1861, she entered a period of mourning. The grief-stricken monarch wore all black (including jet jewelry) for the remainder of her life.
Another widespread mourning practice for Victorians of all social classes was to include locks of their deceased loved one's hair within their grief jewelry. In the present day, this practice has evolved into crafting jewelry made from cremation ashes.
The different types of materials used in cremation jewelry
Aside from cremains (we use about half a teaspoon of cremation ash from your loved one), we use multiple types of materials to handcraft jewelry for cremated ashes, including:
- Silver (typically .925 Sterling Silver)
- Gold (ranging from 14K rose, yellow, or white)
- Resin
- Glass
- Gemstones like opal, rose quartz, or rhodonite, to name a few.
- Funeral or wedding flowers
The different colors of cremation jewelry
Our cremation jewelry comes in various colors to add more depth and beauty to the designs.
If your cremation ash jewelry is made using precious metals, the primary colors will generally be gold and silver. Meanwhile, glass jewelry and cremation beads typically offer the most extensive color choices.
However, gold or sterling silver cremation jewelry featuring resin or glass elements can also boast a range of colors. If glass or resin is present, you'll find anything from bright white, turquoise, rose, green, pink, dark black, purple, and more.
How to pick the right piece of cremation jewelry for your needs
Choosing the right piece of cremation ashes jewelry will largely depend on your needs and who you wish to commemorate.
If you gravitate towards color, you might prefer a piece of glass cremation jewelry. And, if you’d like a keepsake to remember your loved one based on their hobbies and interests in life, please browse our Kindred Collection.
For general inspiration, please consider our expertly curated collections ranging from pet cremation jewelry and cremation jewelry for men. You can also browse our 13,800+ customer reviews to see how others choose the right memorial jewelry for their needs.
“I actually picked this company to do pieces for my children when I am gone. I decided to use them to do an Orb with my Dad's cremains. I was so happy with this beauty! The design and colors I picked are perfect for representing my Dad. Every single product is one of a kind. So you can take some comfort in knowing this. Thank you so very much.” ~ Dusti R.
Choosing the right size for your cremation jewelry
Choosing the right size for your cremated remains jewelry can vary depending on the recipient and the item. Most of our pieces come in pre-set sizes. However, our cremation rings vary in size: typically from 5-9 for women and 6-13 for men. So please remember to have accurate ring measurements to hand when placing your order.
Choosing the right style of cremation jewelry
We offer an assortment of styles to suit your needs. To choose the perfect way to create your cremation jewelry from ashes, consider the departed's taste or the intended recipient's preferences.
Some stylized options to transform your loved one's cremated ashes into jewelry include minimalist cremation urn jewelry, colorful glass earrings or bracelet beads, and statement pieces like our tree of life pendants.
We also offer curated collections with popular cremation jewelry for women and men if you need more inspiration. You'll also find unisex pieces ranging from subtle glass pendants to intricate cremation ash rings and personalized fingerprint jewelry.
How to pick the right inscription for cremation jewelry
Although it can be daunting to put your feelings into words during an already challenging time, please rest assured if you're speaking from the heart, there's no “wrong” inscription. But, if you need a starting point, we recommend browsing our Angel Opal Sayings curated collection to see if any prewritten inscription text speaks to you.
We also highly recommend double-checking any inscription character length restrictions for your purchase. Ideas of meaningful personalization memorial engravings for shorter character restrictions include:
- You are in my heart forever.
- Forever by your side.
- Always on my mind, forever in my heart.
- Loved by all.
- In loving memory.
How to wear your unique cremation jewelry
How you wear your cremation jewelry will depend on the individual piece. Memorial earrings and pendants will naturally be worn differently from each other. But you can also consider your piece's style and colors when matching your jewelry with clothing.
We also recommend checking any care instructions for your purchase, as exposing specific pieces to harsh conditions, chemicals, or sunlight can damage the jewelry. For example, depending on the materials, you might need to avoid wearing your jewelry in the pool or in direct sunlight.
How to care for your cremation jewelry
Caring for your cremation jewelry will help you keep your piece in the best condition for generations to come.
In general, it's best to keep your jewelry clean, especially if your item includes precious metals and stones. You'll want to use a soft, dry cloth (ideally a jewelry polishing cloth if silver) to wipe away any dirt or fingerprints and restore shine.
Below are product care recommendations for silver, resin, and glass pieces. You can also email us at hello@spiritpieces.com or call us with any questions about caring for your unique cremated ashes jewelry.
Silver
Our silver jewelry is, for the most part, .925 Sterling Silver. You might find the silver will slowly turn darker. Sometimes you'll see it turn dark quickly. Silver tarnish like this is often a natural reaction to your unique body chemistry or something in the environment.
Please use a silver polishing cloth and gently rub the tarnished areas to treat silver tarnish; this will quickly shine it up like new. Please also avoid exposure to harsh chemicals or salt/chlorine water, as this will damage your silver cremation jewelry.
Resin
Resin jewelry is a type of polymer plastic that needs to be worn more carefully than our silver or glass jewelry. Hand sanitizer can be particularly damaging to resin cremation jewelry. Equally, exposure to harsh conditions or sunlight may dull the finish.
If your resin jewelry becomes blurry, it's usually due to small pits that form on the surface. If you have it, car wax will resurface the resin. You can also use a micro cloth to gently buff any resin in your jewelry. If that doesn't work, please get in touch with us, as we can likely add a thin layer of resin on the surface.
Glass
Our glass cremation jewelry is, in some ways, the most resilient and, in others, the most fragile. We use borosilicate glass to encase the ashes. And this is shatter-resistant glass (much like microwavable cookware). It will be ok if you drop on a rug, the ground, or the beach, but if you drop on rocks or tiles, it may break, most often at the loop. Don't hesitate to contact us if it breaks, as we can usually repair a broken loop.
Soapy water is more than sufficient to clean your glass jewelry. It can be worn in chlorine pools, though we suggest against this as there's the general rule of not taking glass into swimming pools. If your chain is silver, it may also be damaged.
How to gift someone cremation jewelry
We offer cremation jewelry gift cards to help you provide thoughtful condolences to close friends and family members grieving the loss of a loved one.
Once you purchase a Spirit Piece Gift Card, we'll email you an alphanumeric code. You can forward this code onward to your giftee. They can then “add to cart” item(s) they're interested in purchasing and use the gift card at checkout when deciding which memorial jewelry they wish to purchase.
We also offer up to 20% discounts for family purchases so that you can memorialize loved ones as a family and free shipping on U.S. orders. And should your giftee prefer a catalog, they can request a catalog via this page.
How Do I Find the Perfect Unique Memorial?
For better or worse Spirit Pieces has hundreds of items of memorial jewelry for purchase. If you're having through finding the perfect memorial for your loved one, we suggest searching though our site based on keyword.
For example, if your loved one loved dolphins, search on 'dolphins' to show memorial dolphin options. Alternatively you could look through our 'themes section where we've grouped similarly grouped memorial products
