Eterneva Looks to Memorial Diamonds as Millennial Alternative to Traditional Funerals
According to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, the funeral industry has grown stale. Further research performed by the National Funeral Directors Association backs up Cuban’s assessment, pointing out just how large a transition there has been from conventional burials to alternatives like cremation.
A 2020 NFDA Cremation & Burial Report would reveal that the projected cremation rate is up to 56% while projected burial rates sit at 37.5%. As this cultural shift continues to underscore millennial changes in deathcare, companies like Eterneva are trying to seize the moment to provide funerary services for younger generations as an alternative to costly funerals.
Let’s take a closer look at the innovative concepts and technology behind Eterneva’s memorial diamonds.
Introducing Eterneva: Changing the Tides in Deathcare
As more than 4 million people have died throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the funerary industry has been forced to quickly adjust and acclimate to this new climate. Eterneva is one of the newest companies looking to utilize state-of-the-art technology to adapt to this new world.
Adelle Archer is the co-founder of Eterneva as well as its most vocal spokesperson. Archer had been collaborating with a partner on a project in the synthetic diamond space when the loss of a beloved mentor sent Archer into depression. The loss of a loved one is always hard to handle, but Archer knew that she wanted to do something special to remember her friend.
Having already delved into the synthetic diamond space, Archer and her eventual Eterneva co-founder would cremate their mentor before having her ashes turned into a memorial diamond following carbon purification. The process would result in a beautiful black diamond as well as a revelation by Archer, it was possible to rejuvenate the deathcare industry while fostering better support for those who are still grieving.
Modern Technological Marvel For Funerary Care
Eterneva was founded by Archer and her partner to bring the same sense of closure and support to others that the memorial diamond had brought to Archer. To make this a reality, Archer and partner Garrett Ozar would appear in a 2019 episode of Shark Tank. They would pitch their memorial diamond to the NBA’s Mark Cuban and the rest was history. After buying into their pitch, Cuban would invest $600k of his own money. Driven by the hype from Shark Tank, Eterneva would secure an additional $4.2 million in backing after three rounds of seed funding.
After acquiring mainstream funding, Eterenva was able to develop a best-in-class 7-stage process that begins with a Welcome Kit and ends with a Lovingly Crafted, Hand-delivered Memorial Diamond.
Clients who decide to partake in the 7-step journey will begin with a welcome kit that features a video, return postage, and instructions to safely transfer your loved one’s ashes to Eterneva. A mobile Eterneva member can be dispatched in-person to assist with this process.
Once the ashes have been shipped to Eterneva, they will undergo carbon purification to separate any particulates from the remaining carbon. This material is then used as a starter in one of Eterneva’s state-of-the-art facilities where it is placed in a specialized machine that approximates the growing conditions of diamonds below the surface of the earth.
As every bit of carbon is different, the scientists at Eterneva overlook the iterative process to create the perfect combination of heat, pressure, and longevity. This entire process is taped and sent to clients who choose to partake in the service.
Expanded Services & Modernizing Funerals
Eterneva’s success has been driven in large part by the millennial perspective on death and grief. The concept of the modern funeral as we understand it has shifted by major leaps and bounds over the years, something that can best be exemplified by the pivot from burial to cremation. As Eterneva continues to lay a claim on its market share, currently operating out of 17 American funeral homes, more and more grieving loved ones will be introduced to memorial diamonds.
Archer states that there is a certain millennial-focused appeal beneath the Eterneva process, which Archer calls the ‘death journey’. The Death Journey she is discussing involves constant videos and updates to detail the cremation and diamond crafting process that unfolds across seven to nine months.
Additionally, Archer and the Eterneva team believe that their direct-to-consumer services appeal mightily to the millennial-dominated internet. Continued losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic have only made this process all the more important as many millennials are being faced with the loss of a loved one for the first time.
