Grave Headstones

The Worlds Most Popular Memorial Product

Grave headstones remain today the world's most popular way to permanently memorialize deceased loved-ones. Following centuries of tradition, in cultures all across the globe, most people alive today can expect to be remembered through the ages by grave headstones personalized to include their names, dates of birth and death, special designs, and other relevant information. Even people whose bodies have been cremated (a tradition whose popularity is increasing dramatically) are often memorialized with grave headstones installed in their family cemetery plots.

While the tradition of grave headstones is about as old as mankind, the style of most grave headstones has changed rather dramatically in recent years. For many years most grave headstones were large, up-right pieces of sculpted stone that contained written information about the people whose grave they marked. While these "up-right" grave headstones still used today, they now usually mark a group of graves (such as an entire family), and they often also take the form of elaborately designed statues that celebrate a specific theme. Meanwhile, smaller grave headstones are now most commonly used to mark individual graves.  These smaller plaque-like pieces made of bronze, granite, or a combination of the two, are displayed directly on the ground at the head of a grave. These grave headstones are designed to memorialize just one person, but specially designed "companion" grave headstones are also quite commonly used to memorialize couples who spent large portions of their lives together.

Today's grave headstones usually come in two varieties: bronze and granite. Bronze grave headstones typically include bronze plates with special memorial designs and lettering that names the deceased as well as the dates of birth and death. These plates are then attached to granite bases and then installed in cemeteries as beautiful grave headstones. Granite grave headstones, meanwhile, are formed from one of the worlds oldest and strongest natural materials, which has been shaped, polished and chiseled into grave headstones that will certainly last for ages.

By having grave headstone always available to view in a specific location, families are practicing the sound advice that psychologists typically give to those going through the grieving process. But, besides their emotional value, grave headstones are also important for historians who want to assure that lives can be documented decades, or even centuries, after death. The study construction of grave headstones assures that people will be remembered long after the elements have destroyed paper records or technology has made electronic records obsolete.

While many grave headstones are purchased "at need" (after a person has died), there are some advantages to "pre-need" purchasing of grave headstones. These memorial headstones have the name (or, in the case of companion memorial headstones, names) inscribed at the time of purchase, and then the death dates are added later. Many people choose the later option because they want the peace of mind that comes from choosing the design and style of their own grave headstones. Buying grave headstones pre-need, assures that prices will never increase.