Memorial jewellery sales soar by 30% over past 12 months, despite the economic downturn
Despite the challenging economic climate, Burton-on-Trent-based Ashes Memorial Jewellery has seen sales rise by a third (30%) over the past year.
Interest in memorial jewellery has skyrocketed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a significant spike in the number of people searching for this style of jewellery on Google.
Ashes Memorial Jewellery has customers nationwide and says the five regions where demand for memorial jewellery is strongest are:
- London and the Home Counties
- Nottinghamshire
- Gloucestershire
- Aberdeenshire
- Staffordshire
Julia Usher, Managing Director, Ashes Memorial Jewellery, commented:
Since the start of the pandemic, demand for memorial jewellery has soared. It's still a niche but it's certainly now a much bigger niche as people's relationship with death has changed a lot over the past two years. Memorial jewellery is a powerful and comforting way to help connect a grieving person to their lost loved one. In the darkness of grief, a piece of memorial jewellery can help to create a physical connection between the departed and the living. It acts as a physical memento of happy times spent together. ”
Memorial jewellery Q&A with Julia Usher
What is memorial jewellery?
“Memorial or ashes jewellery is specialist jewellery that contains a small amount of your loved one's ashes or hair — and even an exact copy of their handwriting or a fingerprint can be laser engraved onto the metal. Memorial jewellery is available in many different styles. Ashes or hair can be placed within glass, resin, rolled onto metal or even made into a diamond. The price point for this type of jewellery is wide so there is a special commemorative piece to suit all budgets."
Is memorial jewellery predominantly aimed at women?
“No, absolutely not, everyone can wear memorial jewellery owing to the wide choice of products available. In recent years, the trend for male memorial jewellery has become increasingly popular. Items such a dogtags, cufflinks and rings make ideal pieces to keep the memories of a loved one nearby. Memorial jewellery is certainly not gender specific and it is my belief that it should be crafted to reflect your own personality and unique style.”
How is memorial jewellery made?
"As you can imagine, there are many ways to craft memorial jewellery. Some processes are created by hand and others are made by machine. The most popular ways of crafting this fascinating type of jewellery is to:
- Place a small amount of ashes within the metal so it's hidden.
- Roll the ashes onto the metal. This creates a distinctive pattern on the metal.
- Place the ashes within glass to create an ashes bead or glass keepsake.
- Place the ashes or hair into resin. This allows the maker to craft complex and ornate designs.
- Ashes can be used to craft stunning lab grown diamonds.
- Fingerprint and handwriting copies can also be used to further personalise your memorial jewellery.
If a person wishes to have a piece of memorial jewellery made, who can make it for them?
“In the UK, there are several specialist memorial jewellery companies that can craft your treasured jewellery for you. My company, Ashes Memorial Jewellery offers the largest collection of handmade memorial jewellery in the UK. We use all the processes and skills mentioned above. It is made by my fabulous team of highly skilled jewellers from our specialist workshop in Staffordshire. You can see our full collection online at https://www.ashesmemorialjewellery.com ”
Have seen any particular trends/styles of memorial jewellery stand out over the past few years?
“We have definitely seen a huge rise in demand for more unusual and contemporary handcrafted British made pieces. Gold memorial jewellery in the past 12 months has also become very popular. I think this has been bought on by people being at home more during the pandemic. People naturally spent more time browsing the internet for more unusual memorial jewellery options. Thus this resulted in people moving away from the cheap mass-produced memorial jewellery found on the likes of Amazon and eBay. ”
Why do think memorial jewellery become so popular?
“In my opinion, memorial jewellery has become increasingly popular in recent years because It is a powerful and comforting way to help connect a grieving person to their lost loved one. In the darkness of grief, a piece of memorial jewellery can help to create a physical connection between the departed and the living. It acts as a physical memento of happy times spent together."