WHEN American undertakers announce a" new and exciting merchandising initiative" it's best to be braced for yet one more example of monumental bad taste. Even the late Nancy Mitford, who exposed and ridiculed the tasteless and expensive exploitation of grief in her book, The American Way of Death, would have been intrigued by contemporary offerings from the trade, ranging from funeral hypermarkets, pay before you die savings schemes and cardboard coffins for the cost conscious. Now, for a modest charge, the trade offers the Heirloom Pendant Collection, enabling the bereaved to carry a portion of the loved one sealed in a gold pendant.

The creator of this bizarre funereal keepsake says suggests that it helps in "grief management" and is a further step in "personalising the death experience for clients". For the profession its "earnings enhancing". The pendants made their debut at the National Funeral Directors' convention in Cincinnati this week and cost from a mere £1,000 to more than £6,000. All major credit cards accepted.