The amount of ashes you will need to fill a cremation jewelry urn depends on the specific jewelry piece you have, but you can expect to need no more than 2 cubic inches of cremated remains at most. Many cremation jewelry pendants hold a minuscule amount of ashes, approximately the size of one or two grains of rice. This minimal amount ensures the jewelry remains lightweight and comfortable to wear while still honoring your loved one.
Cremated remains entering the United States have no permit or importation requirements. These "ashes," which are processed bone fragments left over from the cremation process, are sterile because any tissue, blood, or other decomposable material that can transmit disease has been burned away during cremation. Other human remains that require no permit for importation include clean and dry bones, hair, teeth, and finger or toe nails. A deceased person's body that is entering the United States for later burial or cremation must be accompanied by a death certificate and be cleared for entry.
A custom cremation urn is frequently engraved with the deceased's name, birth date, and death date. You can further personalize your engraving with an epitaph, which is a short expression of love or respect that goes on memorial items. Examples of epitaphs include "In Loving Memory" and "Beloved Wife and Mother"/Husband and Father". If there is room, a short quote or statement such as "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened" can also be included.
Depending on your location, you may have legal regulations associated with scattering ashes. These are in place for the interest of public and environmental safety, along with respect for private property owners who may not want cremated remains on their property. Some families may choose to ignore these regulations and scatter ashes in places that bar cremated remains (such as Disneyland), but we heavily discourage this as it can be illegal and result in the undignified disposal of your loved one's remains as a biohazard.
Cremation jewelry typically has a small compartment where a tiny amount of ashes can be placed, often sealed with a screw or other closure method. For your convenience, we include a filling kit with each jewelry order, which contains a detailed instruction pamphlet, a funnel, a pipette, a toothpick, and sealing glue.
Unlike a traditional burial, when cremated remains are buried, they do not decompose further in the ground, because they have already been reduced to bone through cremation. Some families may choose an eco-friendly or "green" burial by burying their loved one's ashes within a biodegradable urn that breaks down in the soil over months or years, eventually allowing the ashes to mix with the earth. More commonly, ashes will be buried within a permanently lasting cremation urn encased by a durable urn vault. This urn vault can be buried underground at a cemetery plot, designated memorial garden, or other chosen location. Burying cremated remains allows family and friends to give their loved one a final resting place in a memorial location that they can revisit.
To fill a cremation urn with ashes, you can use direct transfer, bag transfer, or bag-to-bag transfer. The simplest way to fill a cremation urn is through bag transfer, where you simply place the entire bag of ashes inside the urn. Pouring ashes from their bag into the urn itself is called direct transfer, while pouring ashes from one bag into another bag is called bag-to-bag transfer. Any of these three methods will work to fill a cremation urn. If you are filling a smaller urn such as a medium urn or a keepsake urn, you can use direct transfer to pour some ashes into the urn, or use bag-to-bag transfer to portion out some ashes into a smaller bag before using bag transfer to place the smaller bag into the urn.
After cremation, remains are carefully removed from the cremation chamber and transferred onto a cooling tray. The remains are processed to remove any metal fragments that may be present, if for example the deceased had a surgical implant. When only bone is left, the fragments are processed into sand-like particles using a machine called a cremulator. These "ashes" are returned to the family in an urn or other container.
The opportunity for a final goodbye before cremation can occur at a funeral or memorial service held prior to the cremation. A memorial service before cremation allows family and friends a time to grieve and say their final goodbyes to their loved one. If the deceased is laid to rest in an open casket during the service, this viewing can also give mourners closure to see their loved one a last time before cremation. Some cremation providers also offer a witnessed cremation, where a small number of family members are allowed to join the cremation operator and watch their loved one be placed into the cremation chamber. A witnessed cremation allows grieving family to be the last people to see their loved one before cremation occurs.
After you are cremated, your ashes can be buried in a variety of ways, such as in a traditional cemetery plot, a columbarium niche, or even in a family member's garden. The ashes can be placed in an urn or biodegradable container before burial, or they may be deposited directly into the ground, similar to a scattering.
To choose a cremation urn, you should consider how much volume you will need, along with how the urn will be used. If the urn will be used to hold an adult's complete amount of ashes, you will likely want a standard-sized urn, which is designed to accommodate most adults.
Our urn size calculator can help you estimate the volume of your loved one's cremated remains and determine what size urn may be appropriate.
Once you have an urn size in mind, you can select an urn material based on the urn's intended use, such as whether it will be displayed, buried, or used for scattering.
For every urn size and urn material, there are beautiful urn options to choose from, and you can pick a design that speaks to you or that fittingly memorializes your loved one.
Scattering urns are designed to allow easy dispersion of ashes in the air or water, and have different shapes depending on the type of scattering. They can be made from biodegradable materials like paper and fiber or durable materials like wood and metal. If a scattering takes place on land, an appropriate scattering urn may be a scattering tube that features an easy-open hole or removable lid to aid the pouring of ashes. Water scattering, where cremated remains are released into the water, can use either scattering tubes or biodegradable urns that are directly placed in the water to sink.
You can reuse a cremation urn that is fully intact, but some people may find it inappropriate or disrespectful to reuse an urn that has previously held someone's ashes. If you do choose to reuse a cremation urn, make sure that it is clean and empty of past cremated remains. If cost is an issue for your family, we offer free cremation urns at In the Light Urns that have visual imperfections but are structurally sound.
There is no mention of scattering ashes in the Bible, but the Catholic Church prohibits scattering because it teaches that a person's body should be interred in a sacred resting place (i.e., graveyard, which is a cemetery located on church grounds). Cremation is permitted under the basis that cremated remains are treated as if they were a whole body, and the act of scattering goes against this practice.
A cremation container is a combustible box or casket used to hold a person's intact body before cremation. When cremation occurs, the cremation container holding the body gets burned in a cremation chamber. After cremation, when a person's body has been reduced to bones and ground into small particles resembling sand, an urn is used to store the cremated remains or "ashes." An urn for ashes can be a temporary holding container while the ashes are transported for scattering, or it can be a permanent urn intended for burial or decorative display.
Cremated remains can either go directly inside an urn or be contained in a bag inside the urn. When you receive your loved one's ashes from the crematorium, the ashes will already be inside a plastic bag, so you can either place the entire bag inside the urn or pour the ashes from the bag into the urn.
A cremation jewelry urn allows you to keep a loved one close wherever you go, which can provide you with comfort. Wearing a cremation jewelry piece can also symbolize how important your loved one was to you. For practicality's sake, a cremation jewelry urn is additionally the memorial option that takes up the least space if you want to display the jewelry as a keepsake.