Overview

• The short film Touched By Gold premiered Sept. 15, featuring Elton John and jeweler Theo Fennell discussing how his removed kneecaps became jewelry.
• Fennell says the bones were baked to dry, then sealed with acetate and polished before being framed in gold.
• John’s right patella was made into a necklace with a chain fashioned from bones and a Latin engraving that translates to “I will no longer bow to any man.”
• The left, smaller kneecap was turned into a brooch, with Fennell noting the difficulty of conforming gold to such an unusual shape.
• John ties the pieces to his 2024 double knee replacement and had already worn the necklace publicly in October 2024, as both he and Fennell describe the items as talismanic and “timeless.”