Elton John has revealed he had his old kneecaps “baked” into gold jewellery pieces.
In a short documentary film titled Touched by Gold released by the World Gold Council on Monday, the iconic musician reflected on his love of the precious metal and the way he often incorporated the colour into his onstage wardrobe.
During the film, John also recalled how he even engaged jeweller Theo Fennell to use his bones in pieces of custom-made gold jewellery after he underwent double knee replacement surgery in early 2024.
“When I had my kneecaps removed, the left one first and then the right, I asked my surgeon if I could keep the kneecaps, which he was rather startled about – then I rang you,” he told Theo, noting he gave the designer permission to “do what you want with them”.
In response, Fennell explained how his team “baked them”.
“We had to bake them to dry them out. Then they get raw like pumice stone, they’re very porous. So we had to paint them with acetate and then just polish them up,” he said, before displaying a gold and diamond pendant made from one of the Rocket Man hitmaker’s kneecaps.
“That’s my right kneecap. That’s my right patella,” the 78-year-old gestured. “My surgeon said I had the worst knees he’s ever operated on. That hole was actually in my kneecap. It looks a bit like an old artifact from Egypt.”
Elsewhere in the conversation, John shared how the necklace has been engraved with the phrase “I will no longer bow to any man” in Latin, to which Fennell joked, “You can’t do with a kneecap missing.”
John unveiled a small gold brooch that was made from his left kneecap too.
“I honestly think these are timeless pieces that will last for centuries,” he declared.
