GERMANY: For DIY demons, it's the logical conclusion to a life of screwing and sawing: the self-assembly gravestone. German company Grabwerk (Graveworks) has breached the final frontier in Vorsprung durch Technik - progress through engineering - with a stainless steel gravestone which serves as a shop window on your just-ended life writes Derek Scally in Berlin.
"I see it as an enrichment of our monoculture graveyards," says designer Mr Wolfgang Hrapia. "I think that every era needs its own mode of expression. Our time is the time of glass and metal."
The gravestone looks like an outsized stainless steel iPod with a window at the top that can be filled with personal items. Decor- ation suggestions on the website include a trumpet, a wedding photograph and a bonsai tree.
"Our gravestones offer space and opportunity to represent some of the deceased's personality and personal feelings," says the company's website (www. grabwerk.com). 'Grabwerk promises that you will have your gravestone assembled in about 40 minutes - convenient for people with only minutes to live.
"It's easier than IKEA because there's no wrong way to assemble it," says Mr Hrapia. He promises there'll be no screws left over at the end - a comforting thought for someone facing the great abyss.
The deceased-to-be or next-of- kin can transport the 90 kg gravestone in their car to the graveyard. There, they lower the casing onto a granite pedestal and fix it in place. A key on the side prevents access for would-be vandals to the interior.
Grabwerk calls its patented invention with an all-in price the cost-effective alternative to traditional gravestones and the associated inscription and mount- ing costs that funeral homes charge on top of purchase price.
"In Germany, stonemasons often buy the stone from China for €500 and sell them for over 2,000," says Mr Hrapia.
Grabwerk can deliver its gravestones to Ireland for about 1,600 including shipping charges. But buyer beware: the gravestones may not meet the often strict specifications of your graveyard of choice.
"From about 10 inquiries so far, only three orders went through because so many graveyards refused the stones," he says.
He would like to expand his idea abroad where graveyard restrictions are more liberal and is seeking local partners around Europe, including Ireland.
Perhaps the most useful part is the 30-day money- back guarantee - should rumours of one's demise prove greatly exaggerated.