Elton John's very unique jewellery made from his own kneecaps
Sir Elton John, 78, has transformed his surgically removed kneecaps into unique jewellery pieces following his double knee replacement in 2024, describing them as 'timeless pieces that will last for centuries'.
Elton John has told how he transformed his kneecaps into a fashion statement after the singer underwent a double knee replacement in 2024.
In a brief documentary last year discussing how gold has influenced his life both on and off stage, the music icon, 78, said: "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."
He subsequently contacted jewellery designer Theo Fennell for help.
Fennell then detailed the process of converting bone into jewellery. "We had to bake them to dry them out," he explained.
"Then they get raw like pumice stone, they're very porous, and so we had to paint them with acetate and then just polish them up.", reports the Mirror.
Brandishing a gold-framed necklace containing a piece of bone, Elton added: "My right kneecap. That's my right patella. 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 artefact from Egypt."
He praised Fennell's talents, remarking that he "brilliantly had the necklace chain made out of bones," and, "I honestly think these are timeless pieces that will last for centuries."
Fennell said: "I just thought it would be more fun to have a necklace that reflected the thing at the end of it."
The reverse of the necklace is inscribed with a Latin phrase translating as: "I will no longer bow to any man."
The designer joked: "Which of course you can't do with a kneecap missing."
Elton previously opened up about his health struggles at the premiere of his biopic 'It's Never Too Late', saying: "I don't have tonsils, adenoids or an appendix. I don't have a prostate. I don't have a right hip or a left knee or a right knee."
He added: "In fact, the only thing left to me is my left hip. But I'm still here. And I can't thank you [enough], you're the people that made me."
In 2013, he was forced to reschedule tour dates due to appendicitis, with a representative praising his "superhuman efforts" to perform despite his illness. He subsequently underwent surgery to remove his appendix.
Elton has also been managing Type 2 diabetes since the early 2000s, necessitating significant alterations to his diet.
"I can have an apple, I can eat a bit of melon. As long as you're sensible about it, it doesn't shoot your blood sugar up. But what I crave is chocolate and ice cream, I can't have any ice cream," he once admitted.
Then in 2017, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Opting for surgery over chemotherapy, he hoped this would minimise the emotional impact on his family.
However, post-surgery complications nearly cost him his life. In his memoir 'Me, Elton', he revealed he was just "24 hours from death" after contracting a rare infection.
"In the hospital, alone at the dead of night, I'd prayed: please don't let me die, please let me see my kids again, please give me a little longer," he shared.
