EXCLUSIVE: Elton John's Ghoulish Goodbye Gifts to Family Revealed As He Nears Death — 'He's Turning His Creaking Body Parts Into Jewelry!'

Elton John has created a necklace from his shattered kneecaps recently removed in surgery – and insiders tell RadarOnline.com it is only the beginning of a series of grim farewell keepsakes he intends to leave behind for his loved ones, including vials of his blood and jewelry crafted from his ashes.

The 78-year-old singer, who retired from touring last year after decades on the road, made the disclosure about his kneecap bling in Touched by Gold, a new documentary produced with the World Gold Council.

It details how John, following a double knee replacement, had his kneecaps preserved and fashioned into a necklace with designer Theo Fennell.

Now, insiders say he plans to extend the idea to create more ghoulish goodbye gifts for his family."

Elton has made it clear that the kneecaps were just the start," a source close to the star told us.

"He's already talking about leaving vials of his blood for his sons and making sure his ashes are turned into jewelry so his family can wear him close forever. He calls it part of his legacy and thinks it will keep him close to their hearts – literally, if they are wearing necklaces containing pieces of his body."

In the Touched by Gold documentary, John recounted: "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 she was rather startled about."

His surgeon later told him he had the "worst knees" he had ever operated on.

Fennell explained the unusual process, saying: "We had to bake them to dry them out. 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."

He added the necklace chain was made of bone and inscribed with the Latin phrase meaning "I will no longer bow to any man."

Those close to John say he has been unusually candid about death since retiring.

"He sees these pieces as an extension of his art," one friend said.

"For Elton, it's not morbid. It's a way of leaving something tangible and personal behind – something his boys and David (his husband, David Furnish) can hold onto when he's gone."

The Grammy-winner has long spoken about the symbolic power of gold in his life, from his first gold disc in 1970 to the shimmering lamé suits that became part of his stage persona.

"Throughout my career, gold has always had a magic that inspires my music, my style and the way I express myself," John said in the documentary.

But the shift to body-based jewelry has startled even some of his friends.

"People might find it gruesome, but Elton says he doesn't care," a source told us.

"He feels that if people can turn hair into keepsakes or wear lockets of ashes, then why not go further? He sees it as the ultimate statement of love."

The film also highlights his philanthropic work, including the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which has raised more than $650million.

Yet behind the scenes, those close to him insist his focus is increasingly on his family and how to say goodbye on his own terms.

"He wants his children to remember him not just through his songs," one insider said.

They added: "But through something they can literally carry with them for the rest of their lives."