Ashes to Diamonds on Shark Tank

[WinkHPD]

Well, like a bad penny this often debunked product has made it to the big time with an appearance on the Shark Tank where Mark Cuban has become the investor in a company making what many in the trade consider to be completely impossible. Making diamonds from the cremated remains of loved ones.

According to the couple who pitched the idea to the Sharks, they are looking for $27,000,000 in sales this year. You can read the article from Rob Bates of JCK magazine here: https://www.jckonline.com/editorial-article/ashes-diamonds-shark-tank/

The article also links to a report by Robert James claiming the claims are a complete Fraud, and of course, a link to a page on the Eterneva website purporting to show the actual science behind the claims.

Personally, I find the idea more than a little distasteful, even if it is true. If they are doing twenty seven million dollars in sales though, it is clear that I have greatly underestimated the market for such things. I will keep my wonderment in check though, as I remain unconvinced that it can be done and even it possible I would not turn my lovely wife into a rock if she is rude enough to precede me in traveling on to the next life.

Wink

 

[Rockdiamond]

I.m with you Wink- I am not a fan of the idea.... it feels ghoulish.
But about the idea of Cuban investing...and sales figures.....
I heard an interesting story about Shark Tank....and Pawn Stars, American Pickers...etc
EVERYTHING is staged.
Sure, they can easily project 20 million in sales- and they can also project that a Martian will come to Ashville and open a McDonald's

 

[Tartansparkles]

We were offered my FIL's ashes as a glass paperweight. One of the younger but still adult grandchildren was quite taken with the idea. But what would you do with it in years to come when people have moved on, your decor has changed and the ashes really are just a paperweight. It would be kinda hard to just chuck it in the bin! Or give to the charity shop!

I'm guessing Shark Tank is the same idea as Dragon's Den in the UK. I move in business start-up circles and from what I've heard, yeah, it's all just to make good telly.

 

[denverappraiser]

90% of the deals on Shark Tank never come to fruition. Usually, it's the entrepreneurs who bail. What they want there is the immediate bump in sales and credibility that comes from being on the show. This was a 15 minute free commercial in prime time. The Sharks were being played. Put another way, there were more than 5 sharks in the room that day.

 

[tinatark]

But the Scrub Daddy! My fave!!

 

[CalliopeCladdagh]

I thought this was a known, accepted thing? I've looked into it in the past and found multiple companies worldwide who offer it, I've seen diamonds other people have had made with ashes from people, pets, etc. Is it not what they say it is?

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I thought this was a known, accepted thing? I've looked into it in the past and found multiple companies worldwide who offer it, I've seen diamonds other people have had made with ashes from people, pets, etc. Is it not what they say it is?

that's what i thought untill i did some reading on past threads on here
if Wink says it can't be done i beleave him

 

[arkieb1]

I read somewhere that around 90% of the deals the sharks do for TV are never completed in real life ie they rarely ever really invest their own money (especially large amounts) in a lot of them, even ones where they offer the people funding, it's TV reality.

Having said that some of the Aussie sharks invested in people and products on TV and some of those products are now highly successful and being distributed globally.

 

[sledge]

Are the deals not completed because the companies are seeking publicity and not a true financial partner, or because the sharks beat them down on valuations and investment dollars?

Just an example, the diamond company had a self proposed valuation of $10m that other investors bought into at. So for $600k, a shark would get 6% ownership.

The final deal struck was $600k for a 9% ownership stake, effectively altering the valuation to approx $6.67m. That's 2/3 the original valuation the owners came in seeking and the other investors bought in at.

If you were one of the other investors and saw this public airing, you'd probably feel you got a much worse deal than the sharks. Obviously, this is going to cause some turmoil.

I understand the reasoning for the change by the sharks. First and foremost, the sharks get pitched lots of ideas and with ample opportunities comes the ability to be picky and take deals that are more financially favorable, that really pique your interest or that you connect with on some personal level and just want to be involved in. Not to mention the harsh reality they are more experienced and they probably have a more realistic view of true risk for different business types, processes, etc.

Some of the deals offered and taken (at least during airing) were crazy bad for the owners IMO.

I'm not sure the terms everyone agrees to in order to pitch to the sharks and be aired. You'd think any verbal agreements made on the show would have to be inked afterwards to be binding. But I suspect there would be some sort of a clause where the owners pay a penalty of some sort if they verbally agree and back out prior to inking a finalized deal.

What I do know is the whole process of using a loved one's ashes to create a diamond is oddly disturbing to me. But you'd think if the science was actually possible then crime organizations around the globe would be utilizing such a service to make profits on people they drop for one reason or another, especially if it renders a person untraceable afterwards.

 

[JJB.Terry]

I have a friend who was on shark tank and mentioned that many deals happens behind the scenes and don’t air ( too many small deals that go on behind the scenes) and they already selected the ones to be aired mostly the shock factor ones. He got a deal behind the scenes many months before his aired, asked us to keep quiet. This was a couple of years ago.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

i liked the idea of being made into a diamond after i die so im pretty dismayed its not true

 

[CalliopeCladdagh]

i liked the idea of being made into a diamond after i die so im pretty dismayed its not true

Me too!

Why is it not true?

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Me too!

Why is it not true?

i don't know, im not quite sure- too complicated to remember
there are some quite long old inactive threads on here about it

i do however remember some of the ethical dilemmas (if it was true) like how hard they would be to insure and what would happen to the diamond bits left over after cutting - parts of your loved ones thrown in the rubbish with bits of other people's loved ones

also the prices i saw were also much more reasonable more like 3K for a 1 crt
but if its all scam then buyer bewear

 

[RunningwithScissors]

I have no idea about Shark Tank, but I have experience working with HGTV's House Hunters International and the show is a complete and utter lie, everything is staged. I was so sad when I found out because I had been watching the show for years. Now I don't trust any of the "reality tv" to not be staged.

 

[Dancing Fire]

I have no idea about Shark Tank, but I have experience working with HGTV's House Hunters International and the show is a complete and utter lie, everything is staged. I was so sad when I found out because I had been watching the show for years. Now I don't trust any of the "reality tv" to not be staged.

IMO, All staged. That's the reason I'll never watch reality TV.

 

[JLW05]

So much of the "reality" shows we watch is faked. My friend's daughter worked in the business (still dies) and I remember being amused when a famous designer "spruced up" her home, not mentioning that the home belonged to an individual associated with the show. I was amused when the designer added a bowl full of pearls and other fake gems on an end table and spoke about how this was the mom's jewelry and added a beautiful and sentimental touch to the decor. Trust me, my friend doesn't and never did own a single pearl, let alone a bowl full of fake jewelry! After the show, all the lovely additions to the home were carted away except for a few throw pillows.

 

[mwilliamanderson]

I loved the idea after reading about it at a funeral home several years ago. So much in fact that it’s written into our wills. I remind my partner once a year or so that I’ll be wearing him on my finger eventually but he’s convinced I’m dying first

I’m just not fond of the idea of being buried in a concrete box...it’s back to carbon for this body.

 

[PreRaphaelite]

Fresh ”Cremains” are grey and very-slightly clingy/greasy/clumpy IRL so they are easily melded by rolling into molten glass as it is blown through the pipe, but the finished result is a beautiful glass thingamabob,

...with drab grey powder in it.

I‘m very sentimental, but grey glass thrills me as much as grey diamonds.

Mourning is so personal, a uniquely emotional thing for each person, and I totally get the wish to have some small thing to hold that is connected to the lost loved one. I would love to have a pendant made with a diamond fused with the soul of the love of my life, now gone before, but I suspect it is as likely as her reincarnating in such a way that I would find her again.

As for the expected sales of 27mil, PT Barnum has a famous quote that might fit...

 

[rockysalamander]

So, you are now a diamond. But, the diamond you become is likely to be poorly cut and salt and pepper. Now, what does your family do with you? Seems like the start of a comedy scene in a sitcom when aunt Susie drops you.

Meh...after I die...its not my body anymore. I've dealt with too many burdens from the deceased. My will says for the living to do what suits them.