About Us
Close By Me Jewelry is a unique, non-traditional and beautiful way to remember the essence of a departed loved one. Whether it's a family member, friend or pet, designer Gina Murphy utilizes ashes (cremated remains) set in sterling silver to create an elegant keepsake that will last forever.
Close By Me Jewelry designs are hand-crafted pieces of art, that can be worn as charms, a necklace, ring, earrings or cufflinks. Through a patent-pending process, a tablespoon of ashes is mixed with a clear substance to solidify them and then molded into the chosen style of jewelry. After three to four days, the end result is a glass-like or stone-like appearance. Since all ashes are different, the color and appearance will be unique to each piece.
Murphy founded Close By Me Jewelry in 2013. However, the idea was formed long before that. Always cherishing the heartfelt moments in life, Murphy found a way to preserve the precious gifts of sea shells her sons collected by making them into wearable pieces of art. This evolved into bringing home sand from special beaches and doing the same, until one day, a friend's situation sparked a rather unconventional idea. Having lost her mother at age 17 and father at age 26, Murphy understood her friend wanting to keep her departed grandmother's ashes with her at all times. But how, without being obvious what she was carrying? And what would prevent them from flying away? Murphy discovered a way to solidify cremated remains and make them into a wearable pieces of art… Close By Me Jewelry was born! While longing for something similar of her parents, but it being too late, Murphy created a business where others could have a memorable piece of their loved ones to cherish.
The word has spread and clients have come from as far as Eastern Europe. Murphy's creation sits in a different space then traditional cremation jewelry. Close By Me pieces are the FIRST and ONLY of its kind. While other designers mix ashes with silver or combine them with color to create blown glass, Murphy's process brings out the color in the ashes. The process used in Murphy's method gives the ashes almost a wet appearance. Most all ashes range anywhere from a light beige to a dark gray, and can in some cases can appear black.
Choose to wear your keepsake daily or just on special occasions. Close By Me Jewelry makes an excellent gift for anyone who has suffered the loss of someone. It's ideal for families who may want to share in having something significant from their family member.
Close By Me Jewelry pieces are specially made and take approximately two to four weeks for delivery.
