Materials: Bronze or Granite Headstone

If the cemetery grants you the option of choosing either bronze or granite for a memorial here are some things to consider.

Bronze Grave Markers

Bronze grave markers are very popular and their use is growing rapidly throughout the country in memorial parks. Many modern memorial parks only allow bronze grave markers to be used as a memorial because it gives the cemetery a uniform look and it is easier to maintain the grounds.

Bronze grave markers are made from an alloy consisting of copper, tin and trace amounts of lead and zinc. They are usually mounted to a base of granite, concrete or in some case a composite material. The person's name and dates as well as the design are cast on a bronze plaque which is then hand finished and given a protective coating to serve as an everlasting tribute. If the bronze grave marker is a pre-need memorial the final date(s) will be added as a scroll (another name for a small plaque that is attached to the existing bronze plaque).

Granite Headstones

Granite headstones are the most popular form of cemetery memorials. The majority of cemeteries in Canada allow some form of granite memorials. Granite is one of the oldest forms of cemetery memorialization and to this day many of the granite headstones of the past still look as they did when originally erected. This is because granite is a natural durable stone and one of the hardest substances on earth.

Granite headstones are made from granite that has been quarried from the earth. Utilizing state of the art machinery and skilled craftsmen, the granite stone is cut to a specified size and polished to a high sheen ready for engraving. An artist will design the memorial complete with name and dates, which is then engraved onto the stone surface by means of sandblasting. If the granite headstone is a pre-need headstone the final date(s) will be added by simply sandblasting the final date on the headstone at the time of need. This is usually done on-site at the cemetery. A space for it is already provided for it when the memorial was first produced.