It was a challenge taken up by Chaumet, the expert jewellery maker known worldwide for their astonishing creations.
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In a few short months, the next Olympic Games will begin and the athletes now know the reward they will receive if they make it onto the podium. The medals awarded to athletes at the upcoming Games were unveiled on Thursday 8 February at the headquarters of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee.
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In keeping with tradition, the medals are gold, silver and bronze. However, unlike any of the approximately 36,600 medals that have been awarded since Athens 1896, the first modern Olympic Games, these will each be adorned with a small piece of Paris and a symbol of the country of France: the Eiffel Tower.
As Creative Partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, LVMH has called on several of its Maisons to apply their creative talent to showcase France’s unique savoir-faire during this global celebration of high-level sports.
Parisian jeweler Chaumet, has drawn on its unparalleled experience in creating the design of the medals, the ultimate Olympic symbol. The decision came from a desire to make these objects unique and singular, as Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee.
Designed by Paris jewellery house Chaumet, the 18g centrepiece hexagon tokens are made of iron taken from the Eiffel Tower during previous refurbishments then stored for years at a secret location. They are said to represent France. The French sometimes refer to their country as “L’Hexagone” because of its shape.
Six small clasps that hold the iron pieces in the medals are a wink at the 2.5 million rivets that bind the Eiffel Tower together. The five Olympic rings are also stamped on the iron of the medals for the Olympic Games, which will take place from 26 July to 11 August.
The Paralympic logo of three swooshes, known as the Agitos, is stamped on the medals for the Paralympics, which take place from 28 August until 8 September. The back of the medals features the Greek goddess of victory, Nike, with the Acropolis to one side and the Eiffel Tower to the other.
Paralympics medals feature a view of the Eiffel Tower from underneath, and are stamped with Paris 2024 in braille in homage to the Frenchman who invented the system of touch-reading which is universally used by people who are blind and partially sighted.
The 5,084 medals have been produced by France’s mint, the Monnaie de Paris. The gold medals weigh 529g and are not pure gold, but made of silver and plated with 6g of gold. The silver medals weigh 525g and the bronze ones 455g and are a copper, tin and zinc alloy.
