Everyone wants to own a little piece of the Beatles, just not this little piece.

Here on this blog we’ve had a bit of a running series showcasing the stories of people who put diamonds in places that they just don’t belong. Today is one of those days, with a bit of a twist. This isn’t about putting diamonds or jewelry in places they don’t belong; it’s about putting things that don’t belong in our jewelry. Confused yet? I am. So let’s start at the very beginning, with a dentist, and a very famous tooth. 

Because all great blogs begin with teeth, didn’t you know? Anyways, up North in Canada, lives a dentist with two great passions in life, teeth, and the Beatles. It would seem that these passions would not mix well, that is unless he harbored secret dreams to clean Ringo’s teeth. But that all changed late last year, when he had an opportunity to become closer to a Beatle’s chomper than he had ever dreamed possible. In one of the strangest auctions since that grilled cheese sandwich with the picture of the Virgin Mary on it sold on eBay, a tooth was up for sale. And not just any tooth, the tooth of a legend, John Lennon’s tooth. And let us all say, ewwwwwwwwwwwwww! 

Photo : Omega Auction House

The tooth fairy himself would be loath to touch this molar. So how did this miraculous dental sale come about? Lennon, in a fit of obviously insane generosity, gave the tooth to his housekeeper Dorothy Jarlett as a “gift”. I put gift in quotes because I’m not exactly sure what was going on here. Did Lennon give her the tooth so that she could dispose of it properly? I’m pretty sure that he could have tossed the tooth in the trash himself without much effort which leaves the only other option, that he would give it as a gift. Which is really strange, and gross, and just plain wrong. I mean, what do you put on the thank you card? Although I could just be bitter as I never thought to save my own teeth to use as gifts for when I become famous. Think of the money I could have saved on those Christmas presents! But Dorothy had the last laugh, for as unique as this gift was, it was going under the hammer, the last word in re-gifting. 

This is where our friend the dentist comes in. When the auction was underway he bid, and bid, and bid, and finally won the privilege of taking the tooth home. And what did he pay for such a privilege? $31,200. $31,200?! It’s a tooth from crying out loud, not a relic of the Redeemer! But I guess, maybe, I could see it being a nice talking point in his office. Hey, kids, this is what can happen to you if you forget to floss! But it seems a nice display in the office wasn’t what our friendly dentist had in mind, which brings me to the main point of this piece. 

Photo : Ari Soffer

He plans to take a drill and remove small amounts of ‘tooth dust’. The dust will then be carefully harvested and placed in small capsules. The small capsules will then be placed into sterling silver pendants and sold as “John Lennon DNA Limited Edition” jewelry. I’m sorry, but, gross. However, if you are the type that is jumping for joy over the thought of wearing a piece of a musical legend, then you’re in luck! Each piece will retail for $1200 and some of the proceeds will go to a charity that helps treat children with cleft lips and palates, which is a really nice thing to do if you ask me.  But if you want one of these pendants you’ll have to act fast as there are only 25 being produced at the present time. 

So what do you all think? Is this DNA jewelry creepy or are you secretly harboring fantasies of using the DNA to clone Lennon and his mates to stage an epic return of the Beatles? How awesome would that be?!