Artist to Feature Her LifeGem Diamond in Final Masterpiece.

Accomplished artist and great grandmother plans unique memorial to keep family close

CHICAGO -- LifeGem Created Diamonds, the world's first purveyor of diamond memorials, today announced Marguerite E. Mitchell, a 99 year-old artist and great grandmother, will have her cremated remains turned into a blue LifeGem diamond. Mitchell's blue LifeGem will serve as the centerpiece and finishing touch to her final work of art -her prized enamel cross.

"Marguerite is an accomplished artist and remarkable woman," said LifeGem CEO Greg Herro. "Many people create LifeGem diamonds as a way to stay connected and celebrate the lives of their lost loved ones. We are honored that Marguerite would choose to have her LifeGem featured as the focus of what will surely be a treasured family heirloom."

Once complete, the cross will begin a continual voyage, spending each year with a different member of Mitchell's family. The cross will never be shipped; instead, family will gather to share the cross with one another. Mitchell hopes this new tradition of her traveling LifeGem diamond cross will keep her family close for many years and generations to come.

Each of the six pieces of Mitchell's enamel cross were created individually through vitreous enamel painting - a process that consists of meticulous work, arranging, and firing as many as 30-40 times. This unique medium is something for which Mitchell is best known. Another of Mitchell's works that received nationwide acclaim was her Angels line of figurines, made famous in the 1940s and 1950s and sold at Marshall Field's.

LifeGem Created Diamonds have the same brilliance, fire and luster as natural diamonds and are rated by the world's foremost gemologists trained by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). The LifeGem is also produced in green, red, yellow and colorless.

About LifeGem Memorials

LifeGem Memorials developed the world's first certified, high quality colored diamond created from the carbon of a loved one in 2002, to help family and friends memorialize the life of the deceased. After extensive research and development, LifeGem created a process to extract carbon from a lock of hair, making LifeGem diamonds, one of the most unique gifts available today, more accessible than ever. Headquartered in Des Plaines, Ill., the company creates the LifeGem in varying sizes and colors through a worldwide network of certified partners. For additional information and to find local funeral partners, please visit www.LifeGem.com or call 1-866-LIFEGEM.

Editor's note: B-roll video, product photography, and photos of Marguerite and her artwork are available upon request.