The sighting: A new World Gold Council documentary about Elton John, called “Elton John — Touched By Gold,” has revealed that the legendary musical artist had some unusual souvenirs made after a medical issue required the surgical removal of his kneecaps.
Yes: He really did have his kneecaps made into custom jewelry.
The jewels: When Elton John had to have his kneecaps surgically removed, he called up renowned British jewelry designer Theo Fennell to ask if Fennell would be interested in turning the removed bones into custom jewelry.
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According to a Today Show article, John’s right kneecap was set into a gold-plated necklace that is engraved on the back with the quote “I will no longer bow to any man.” The links of the necklace chain are shaped like bones.
The left kneecap was smaller, due to damage, so it was made into a brooch.
The Billboard article includes a jaw-dropping quote from jeweler Theo Fennell about the process:
“We baked [the kneecaps]. We had to bake them to dry them out,” says Fennell.
“Then they get rather like pumice stone, they’re very porous. So we had to paint them with acetate and then just polish them up.”
The trends: Could this inspire people to have their own removed body parts made into jewelry? Sure!
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Do I think that it’s going to start a trend? No, I don’t. The cost, difficulty,
and ick factors are too high.
What do we think? This is so whimsical and wild that I can’t help but love it. Also, the choice of jeweler was top notch – Theo Fennell does beautiful work, and it sounds like he knew the right way to handle making something out of human bone. (I once heard a horrifying story from a jeweler who repaired a pendant made with a human rib that had not been properly preserved…but I won’t traumatize you by sharing the revolting details.)
While it is unarguably weird to wear one’s own removed bones as jewelry, I have to admit that I love the idea of coming out of a harrowing medical operation with a sparkly souvenir.
It’s worth mentioning that laws on keeping your own body parts after surgery vary by state in the US (yes, I looked it up) so if you are planning to emulate John’s bespoke kneecap bling, you’ll need to research the legality of it in advance.
Judgement: 100/10 because I actually love this.
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