Sympathy gifts serve as visible expressions of your prayers and love to a bereaved friend or an entire family. One popular choice as a remembrance token is memorial jewelry. A more specific variety of memorial jewelry is cremation jewelry.

Cremation jewelry typically contains a small hidden compartment where a part of the cremated remains (cremains) of the deceased loved one may be placed and kept. Although commonly worn as any other type of accessory, this memorial jewelry also serves to honor and remember someone who has already passed away.

Remembering a Loved One Privately and Personally through Cremation Jewelry

There are many reasons why memorial or cremation jewelry items are popular as sympathy gifts. Some of these reasons are discussed below: 

  • A handy, stylish keepsake.

The cremains of a departed loved one may be placed inside an urn and kept in a columbarium. The cremains may also be placed in an urn, taken home, and divided among family members. Cremation jewelry, or memorial jewelry, are worn like any other piece of jewelry but are also designed to carry discreetly a minimal amount of the ashes. The cremains are usually placed in a hollow compartment within a pendant, an adjustable ring, or a bracelet. This allows the wearer to keep the departed loved one close to him/her at all times.

  • Continuing the tradition.

The practice of wearing cremation jewelry has been around for hundreds of years. Mourning rings were traditionally worn by royalty and wealthy families to honor their dead. It served to signify the relation of the wearer to the deceased and to honor the memory of the departed family member. This tradition has carried on to the present time in the shape of cremation and/or memorial jewelry. While the idea of wearing these kinds of jewelry may seem entirely recent, the practice has literally been around for ages.

  • More than just cremains.

Memorial jewelry are constructed not only to hold ashes but other commemorative items such as a lock of hair, soil, sand, and even dried flowers. The wearer may take some soil from the sacred burial place of the departed loved one and keep it inside a pendant. Or, s/he may pour a small amount of sand from a favorite beach into the hollow compartment of a ring. Flowers, typically dried and pulverized, may also be placed inside a memorial pendant or ring compartment.

Is It Okay to Divide the Ashes or Cremains Among Loved Ones?

The decision to divide the cremains of a deceased loved one rests on the judgment of other immediate family members. Presently, there are no laws that determine the legality of dividing ashes among family members. This means that the verdict is left to the family members or to the decedent’s expressed preferences prior to death.

Certain religions such as Islam and Judaism have expressed disapproval on cremation and, presumably, also on the splitting up of ashes. Other religions, however, do encourage the practice of cremation. Some of these religions are Buddhism and Hinduism. In Christianity, there is no specific law that expressly prohibits or encourages the practice of cremation. In these cases, the decision is left entirely to the choice of concerned family members.

Cremation Jewelry as Sympathy Tokens

Although some people may find it easy to express their sympathy verbally, others may not be so linguistically expressive.  If you’re one of the latter, you can offer sympathy gifts instead.

With memorial jewelry, you can communicate your sympathy, prayers, and hope in a more concrete and creative way.

If you’re looking for cremation jewelry to give as remembrance tokens, view our selections here at the Comfort Company. We have a range of memorial jewelry items, including cremation jewelry. To learn more about our offerings, click here.

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