Elton John has a rather unusual jewelry collection: one piece is made from his own kneecaps.
The singer had to undergo a double knee replacement and, when doctors removed his kneecaps, he had an unusual request: he wanted to take them home.
He then gave them to jewelry designer Theo Fennell, whom he gave free rein to decide what to do with them.
The process was as strange as the result. Fennell explained that they first had to “bake” the bones to dry them out, until they achieved a porous texture similar to pumice stone. They were then treated with acetate, polished, and finally incorporated into gold-plated jewelry pieces.
The right kneecap ended up being turned into a striking necklace, whose chain was even designed to look like bones. On the back, it bears an engraved Latin phrase meaning: “I will no longer bow before any man”.
The left one, which was smaller, ended up being turned into a brooch.
Elton John himself was delighted with the result and said that he considers the pieces “timeless” and capable of lasting for centuries.
Thus, what for anyone else would probably end up as surgical waste, for one of music’s biggest stars became something far more extravagant:
Elton John literally wears part of his own knees turned into jewelry.