Elton John turned his kneecaps into jewellery
British singer and composer Elton John ordered the creation of jewellery from his own kneecaps, which were removed during surgery. This was reported by news sources after the release of the documentary „Touched by Gold“, in which the musician personally comments on the process of creating these objects.
How the idea came about
Elton John, who has been plagued by health problems for many years and has undergone double knee surgery in 2024, He asked his surgeon to preserve the kneecaps that had been removed. He then turned to a well-known jeweller Theo Fennell, He had complete freedom to interpret these bones as a material for jewellery.
Fennell explained that the bones had to dry by «baking» to a porous state, and then processed, polished and framed in gold for creating jewellery - including necklace and brooch.
Meaning and execution
The right knee was used to create the monumental necklace, and the left one for brooches. On the back of the necklace there is Latin phrase, which translates to «I will no longer bow down to any man», which John takes as an allusion to his own life position and experience.
For the performer, jewellery is not just an extravagant object, but a way of Turn a difficult life stage into a symbol of resilience and creativity.
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