How do you choose a memorial gift for someone of a different faith?
Start with what their tradition says about ashes, not with the jewelry. If their faith allows keeping a portion of ashes, a cremation pendant is a welcome gift. If it does not, choose a piece engraved with a name, a date, or a symbol of their faith and leave the chamber empty, or choose a gift that holds no ashes at all. When you are not sure, ask the family first.
This page exists for the hardest version of gift giving: you love someone who is grieving, their faith is not yours, and you are afraid of getting it wrong at the worst possible moment. Every recommendation below comes from the full page on that tradition in our Religious Views on Cremation series, where the teaching is cited to the tradition's own sources. We sell cremation jewelry, so we are being plain about where our pieces fit and where they do not.
Three rules that hold for every faith
- Ask before assuming there are ashes. Many families in traditions that allow cremation still choose burial, and some inter every bit of the ashes. A gift built for ashes can land as a reminder of something the family did not do. A quiet question ("Would a keepsake that holds a portion of ashes be welcome, or would you rather something engraved?") solves this.
- Engraving fits everywhere. A name, a date, a word, a line of scripture or prayer: every tradition on this page honors that. Our pieces are laser engraved in Oregon, and an engraved pendant can be worn with the chamber empty for the rest of a person's life.
- Symbols are not interchangeable. A cross means one thing to a Catholic grandmother and something different to a Jehovah's Witness, who does not use it. A Star of David or Tree of Life is right for one family and wrong for another. The sections below say which symbols to reach for and which to leave alone.
On this page
- Catholic
- Eastern Orthodox
- Protestant, Baptist, Methodist, and Evangelical
- Latter-day Saints
- Jehovah's Witnesses
- Jewish
- Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and other faiths
- Pets
- When you are not sure
For a Catholic family
Ashes in jewelry: not permitted by Church guidance. Catholic teaching asks that all of a person's ashes rest in a cemetery, church, or columbarium, and says ashes may not be preserved in jewelry or mementos. A pendant that holds ashes is a gift a faithful Catholic family cannot use as intended.
What fits: a cross or crucifix pendant worn empty and engraved with the person's name and dates, a saint's medal, a line from a favorite prayer or psalm, a Mass offered in their name, or a contribution toward the plaque or niche where the ashes rest. If you give one of our cross pendants, say so plainly in the card: "This is meant to be worn engraved, not filled." Families appreciate that you knew.
From our collection, worn engraved and unfilled: the Classic Cross, the Lord's Prayer and Cross pendant, or the Cross and Rhinestone Rosary necklace. Add personalized engraving with a name and dates. See the Catholic page for the full teaching, including the narrow 2023 exception for keeping a minimal portion with a bishop's permission.
For an Eastern Orthodox family
Ashes in jewelry: not accepted. The Orthodox Church does not permit cremation, so a keepsake built for ashes would be a gift the family cannot use.
What fits: an engraved cross pendant with the person's name and dates, a candle for the memorial services held at forty days and one year, or a donation to the parish in the person's name. An Orthodox three bar cross is the most fitting symbol; a plain cross is also welcome.
From our collection, worn engraved and unfilled: the Silver Cross or the Cross Cylinder pendant with engraving. See the Eastern Orthodox page.
For a Protestant, Baptist, Methodist, or Evangelical family
Ashes in jewelry: allowed, a family decision. No major Protestant body prohibits keeping a small portion of ashes in a keepsake, and many families welcome one. The caution is practical rather than doctrinal: a good number of Baptist and evangelical families still prefer burial, and some Methodist families inter all of the ashes in a church columbarium. Ask first.
What fits: a cross, a heart, angel wings, a dove, or a piece engraved with a verse the person loved. For a father, hobby and identity pieces (a fishing hook, a hammer, a bullet engraved with the Lord's Prayer) are the ones families tell us they wear every day.
From our collection: the Cross and Angel Wings necklace, the "Forever In My Heart" heart, the Dove Teardrop, and for dads the Bullet Engraved with a Cross and the Lord's Prayer or the Fishing Hook. Browse all cross cremation jewelry. Full pages: Protestant, Southern Baptist, Methodist, Evangelical.
For a Latter-day Saint family
Ashes in jewelry: allowed, the family decides. The Church's General Handbook leaves cremation and what follows to the family and asks only that remains be treated with reverence. Burial is still the cultural norm, so ask before giving a piece made for ashes.
What fits: a pendant engraved with a name, dates, or a line of scripture; a heart or a tree of life; a simple column or bar that takes engraving well. Latter-day Saints generally do not wear the cross, so choose another symbol.
From our collection: the Tree of Life, the Simple Silver Column, or the "Always In My Heart" heart, with engraving. See the Latter-day Saint page.
For a Jehovah's Witness
Ashes in jewelry: a matter of personal conscience. Witness publications do not address keepsakes directly, so ask the family rather than assuming.
What fits, and what to avoid: Jehovah's Witnesses do not use the cross, so choose a piece without one. They also avoid anything suggesting the dead are conscious or watching over the living, so skip angel wings and phrases like "my guardian angel." Keep engraving to a name, a date, or a simple word of remembrance. A plain, well made piece is the right gift.
From our collection: the Simple Silver Column, the Hex Cylinder, or the Silver Heart, engraved with a name. See the Jehovah's Witness page.
For a Jewish family
Ashes in jewelry: not accepted by Orthodox or Conservative Judaism; a personal choice for many Reform and Reconstructionist families. Traditional Jewish law requires burial, and a keepsake holding ashes can land painfully in an Orthodox or Conservative home. Reform and Reconstructionist families may welcome one, but ask first.
What fits every branch: a donation (tzedakah) in the person's name, a tree planted in Israel, a memorial (yahrzeit) candle, a book for the house of mourning, or a pendant engraved with the person's Hebrew name, a Star of David, or a tree of life (etz chaim). Never give a cross.
From our collection, engraved and, for Orthodox and Conservative families, worn unfilled: the Tree of Life or the Square Tree of Life with a Hebrew name engraved. We do not currently carry a Star of David piece; if that is what you want, choose a jeweler who does and we will not be offended. See the Jewish page.
For Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and other families
Islam forbids cremation, so a keepsake for ashes is not a fitting gift. What is: a donation (sadaqah) in the person's name, food for the family in the days after the death, or a simple piece engraved with the person's name in Arabic or English. Hindu and Sikh families cremate and traditionally immerse the ashes in flowing water rather than keeping them; many families in the diaspora do keep a small portion, so ask. A piece engraved with a name, or with Om or the Khanda where the family would welcome it, fits. Buddhist customs vary by school and country; ashes are often kept in a temple or family altar, and an engraved piece is a safe gift. Full pages for each of these traditions are in progress; the main page has the current summaries.
For someone who lost a pet
Religious rules about cremation concern human remains. None of the traditions in this series has a teaching against keeping a pet's ashes, and pet cremation is common. A pet cremation pendant with a paw print or the pet's name is a gift that fits any household, though a Jehovah's Witness family may prefer one without "angel" wording, and an Orthodox Jewish family may simply prefer an engraved piece. When in doubt, the pet's name and a paw print never miss.
When you are not sure
Ask. A short message ("I would like to give you something to remember him by. Would a keepsake that can hold a portion of his ashes be welcome, or would you rather something engraved?") is not awkward; it is the most thoughtful sentence in the whole exchange. If you would rather ask us, send a note with the person's faith and what you are thinking of, and we will tell you plainly whether it fits, including when the answer is that it does not. And if you want to see the two traditions side by side first, the comparison tool was built for exactly that.
There is no right or wrong way to carry a loss. There is a way that honors what they believed, and that is the gift.
Update history
September 5, 2026: Page published as the gift companion to the Religious Views on Cremation series. Recommendations follow the personal choice and gift sections of each tradition's page. (source)
Cherished Emblems sells cremation jewelry. The doctrinal positions summarized here are cited on each tradition's page; the gift suggestions are ours. Individual families and clergy may hold stricter or more permissive views, and their wishes come first.