By Malcolm Prior BBC News Online, Berkshire

Mrs Tandy intends to have the diamonds set in rings

Not least of all because the �2,250 pale yellow gem was made from the ashes of the 56-year-old geologist himself.

Mrs Tandy has become the first person in the UK to receive a diamond from LifeGem - the firm which offers to turn cremated human remains into gems.

The 51-year-old, from Reading, Berkshire, is now waiting for a second diamond so her two daughters each have a permanent reminder of their father.

Mrs Tandy intends to have the diamonds set in rings for Gayle, 25, and Claire, 20.

She told BBC News Online of the moment she set eyes on the unusual tribute to her husband, Brian, who died from heart failure in April 2003.

Mr Hampson presented the ring to the Tandy family

"It was handed over to me in private and I thought it would be quite an emotional event.

"I was amazed about how beautiful it was. I had never seen a yellow diamond before. I was really, really pleased.

"My daughters were young to lose their father. He was suddenly taken from their lives.

"They felt they needed a permanent memorial to their father.

"I'd definitely recommend it to other people," said Mrs Tandy.

'Stunningly beautiful'

Mr Tandy's ashes were sent to the US by LifeGem, which operates in Hove, Sussex, to be turned into a synthetic diamond.

The company says the ashes are heated to produce graphite before being subjected to high pressures.

A raw crystal is produced which is then polished and shaped.

The firm has guaranteed that the diamonds created came only from Mr Tandy's ashes.

LifeGem boss David Hampson, who handed over the finished product to Mrs Tandy, said: "We were delighted to present Mrs Tandy with her LifeGem, which came out as a very pale yellow diamond and is a stunningly beautiful memorial to her late husband."