Elton John Music is Love for Lalique clear crystal Heart ornament

It is hard not to associate Elton John with the showman that he is and the outrageous show clothes that he wears. “I obviously carry it a little far sometimes,” he told David Frickle in January this year during the satellite radio Sirius XM Town Hall interview, to which the host responded with mock incredulity, “A little?” The understatement was not lost on the live audience. At variance to the proclamation, therefore, is the understated elegance of Lalique’s heart-shaped ornament Music Is Love, conceived with the singer in support of the Elton John AIDS Foundation. There is a gentler and, dare we say, cuter side to the Rocket Man.

French crystal/glass maker and jeweler Lalique and Elton John’s upright crystal heart shape is a limited-edition objet d’art that brings to mind perfume bottles, such as that of the iconic Shalimar by Guerlain (the collectible bottle, interestingly, was designed by Baccarat). But Elton John’s version is not a flacon parfum; in its heart, instead of the golden hue of precious scent, lays a veiny intricacy that swirls the centre formed by the musical symbol of the clef. This would not be out of place sitting atop an upright piano, next to a metronome, still or ticking.

Elton John Music is Love for Lalique red crystal Heart ornament

The perfume association is not entirely out of place when it comes to the Alsace-based Lalique, dubbed by Elton John as the “Rolls-Royce of glass”. Like Baccarat, it is linked to one of the most recognisable and still desired perfumes in the world; in this case, Nina Ricci’s L’air du Temps. Created in 1948, twenty-seven years after Shalimar, L’Air du Temps would become so popular that today it is considered a classic. Its attractiveness is, many are inclined to believe, as much to do with the olfactory appeal of the fragrance as the distinctive bottle—capped by a frosted twin dove—in which the scent is kept.

Similar artistry and preciousness can be found in Elton John’s Music Is Love Hearts (part of a seven-piece philanthropic collection) and is ratified by the limited numbers that have been created: 999 of the clear and 499 of the red are available world-wide. In Singapore, three of each colour are available at the Lalique boutique. Ten percent of the sales of the Music Is Love go to the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Elton John Music Is Love crystal heart-shaped ornaments, SGD2,160 (clear) and SGD3,240 (red), is available at Lalique, Paragon Shopping Centre