There’ll be more than gold in the medals at this year’s Olympic Games.
Victors at the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics will carry a piece of French history home in their medals. Crafted by the renowned jeweler Chaumet and minted at the Monnaie de Paris, each medal contains a genuine fragment of the Eiffel Tower, blending iconic design with national pride.
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Crafting icons: The design journey
To produce the 5,084 medals needed for the games, Paris 2024 collaborated with Chaumet, a leading jeweler from Place Vendôme. They chose to centralize the Eiffel Tower in their design, incorporating its lattice work into the ribbon, made by the Neyret company from Saint-Etienne, and featuring it prominently on both the Olympic and Paralympic medals. The Olympic medals depict the goddess of victory on the front with the Eiffel Tower in the background, while the Paralympic medals showcase the tower in a unique low-angle shot with inscriptions in braille.
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The Iron Lady Inside
More than just a motif, the Eiffel Tower is physically part of each medal. Embedded in the heart of each piece is a hexagonal fragment of the tower, cut from iron sections removed during recent renovations. These 18-gram pieces of puddled iron, known for their durability, add both substance and narrative to each award.
A Monumental Process
The Monnaie de Paris, which also crafted the medals for the 1924 Paris Olympics, handled the production. Creating these medals involved over forty distinct processes including four striking phases and a high-temperature treatment at 480°C to ensure purity and resilience. Despite a labor strike at Monnaie de Paris in the spring of 2024, the institution completed the medals on time, marking a continuity of tradition and craftsmanship.
Sustainable Brilliance
In keeping with modern sustainability practices, each medal is made entirely from recycled materials, including the historical iron fragments. The medals measure 85 millimeters in diameter and range in thickness from 9.2 millimeters, with weights varying from 529 grams for gold to 455 grams for bronze, underscoring the robustness and value of these eco-friendly accolades.
The First Ceremony
The first of these medals will be awarded on July 27 to the champions of the mixed team rifle shooting event in Châteauroux, ensuring that the winners not only take home a piece of sports history but also a piece of Paris itself.
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This article explores the innovative approach taken by Paris 2024 in crafting their Olympic and Paralympic medals. Integrating fragments of the Eiffel Tower not only enriches the value of the medals but also connects athletes with the host city’s rich cultural legacy. This melding of art, history, and sustainability sets a new standard for how the games can honor both winners and heritage.
