Elton John transformed his surgically removed kneecaps into jewellery after a double knee replacement last year.
In the new short documentary Touched By Gold, the 78-year-old music legend recounts asking to keep both patellae after surgery and hiring longtime friend and jeweler Theo Fennell to create wearable pieces.
“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,” John recalled in the documentary, produced by the World Gold Council.
Fennell describes baking and drying the bones before polishing them. One kneecap became a gold-framed necklace, which John identifies on camera as “my right kneecap.”
The chain itself was crafted from bone segments, and the back has a Latin engraving, which translates to, “I will no longer bow to any man.”
The smaller left kneecap was fashioned into a brooch. “I honestly think these are timeless pieces that will last for centuries,” John added.
The EGOT winner, who officially retired from touring in 2023, also jokes in the film about his long medical history.
“There’s not much of me left … But I’m still here. And I can’t thank you enough; you’re the people that made me.”