Update: $12,550 manmade diamond sale to benefit thousands of Americans in need
The 2 carat round brilliant cut diamond sold for $12,550 on EBay. All proceeds will go to Feeding America, with every dollar raised providing at least 10 meals.
The diamond was commissioned by Hidden Valley Ranch brand owner The Clorox Company to commemorate National Ranch Day on 10 March, created by geologist Dean VandenBiesen, VP of LifeGem, a company that creates memorial diamonds from the ashes of a person’s loved ones.
Typically, a diamond takes millions of years deep within the Earth to occur naturally, however, LifeGem is able to duplicate the process by placing carbon, the primary element of all diamonds, in conditions that recreate the forces of nature.
Diamonds are formed when graphite, the crystalline form of pure carbon, is put under intense heat and pressure.
According to VandenBiesen, ranch dressing is made primarily from buttermilk, providing the idea base to grow a diamond. Butter and milk are high in carbon.
In the case of The Ranch Diamond, some of the company’s signature seasoning was heated to 2,500°F (1,370°C) with the output crushed beneath 400 tons of pressure for five months.
A quick polish, and the eye-catching diamond was set in a 14K white gold band engraved within with ‘HVR LVR’.
Voila! A wildly different piece of finger candy that pairs beautifully with snacks like pizza, wings and crudités.
