How ash & hair are processed in glass | Carbon Energy & the process

The Last Breath

When ash or hair fuses with glass, a subtle reaction occurs under the influence of heat.

The material, as it were, comes alive, forming tiny bubbles that settle like delicate traces within the glass. A unique process, as distinctive as a fingerprint. This is also called 'The Last Breath'.

Carbon Energy refers to the role of carbon in this process.
A silent reminder of how something can change, but never truly disappear. 🤍

What happens when ash or hair is incorporated into glass?

When creating a memorial jewelry piece that incorporates ash or hair, glass is heated to a liquid, almost breathing state. At that moment, the material can react to the temperature.

After cremation, ash primarily consists of mineral remains, such as calcium phosphates. However, bone in living tissue is never purely mineral; it has always been intertwined with organic structures. This connection does not completely disappear. When ash comes into contact with the intense heat of molten glass, these remaining organic compounds can react and thus, along with the unique properties of each material, contribute to the patterns that remain visible in the glass.

Hair works differently. Hair largely consists of keratin, a protein rich in carbon. When this comes into contact with the liquid, glowing mass of molten glass, a reaction occurs. Small amounts of gas, carbon dioxide, and water vapor are produced, which cannot always escape before the glass cools and hardens.

What remains are fine air inclusions. Soft, organic patterns. Structures that can never be replicated exactly.

Why is every glass ash jewelry piece different?

No two memorial jewelry pieces are ever the same. This is because:

• each piece of ash or hair has a different composition
• the reaction to heat can never be exactly replicated
• the formation of bubbles and structures occurs spontaneously

Even when two pieces of jewelry are made in the same way, they will always differ from each other.

Carbon Energy

The term Carbon Energy has a concrete basis, but also goes further.

It refers to what happens when carbonaceous material, hair, and/or residual particles react to intense heat. Carbon is one of the most stable elements in existence. It endures, it transforms, and it remains visible in the glass.

Where Science and Meaning Meet

What you see in the glass is the result of a physical process. But what it carries goes far beyond that.

The inclusions are formed from material that was once part of someone. They were created under intense heat and fixed in a form that remains. Not something that escapes, but something that becomes visible.

A memorial jewelry piece that doesn't feel like one

Many traditional ash jewelry pieces are immediately recognizable as memorial jewelry. For some, that feels too heavy and too literal. At The Seventh Sea, I have chosen a different approach myself. Minimalist, refined, and modern 🤍

Jewelry that can be worn like any other piece, but at the same time carries a deeply personal meaning.

Discreet, intimate, and only visible to those who know the story.

Wearing a Memory

For me personally, this is one of the most special aspects of the work.

That something so elusive can take on a form. That you can wear it close to your skin in daily life. In moments of joy, in moments of loss. Always close.

 

Looking for a personalized memorial jewelry piece?

Would you like to have ash or hair incorporated into a piece of jewelry that suits your style and feelings?

At The Seventh Sea, every piece is handmade with attention, tranquility, and respect for the story it carries.

No two pieces of jewelry are ever the same.
And that's exactly the intention 🤍