The Paris 2024 Olympic Games are fast approaching and the organizers have released the highly-anticipated designs for the medals. Every Olympic athlete dreams of standing on the podium as a gold medal is placed around their necks. For the athletes set to take the stage in Paris this summer – including Canadian equestrians in dressage, show jumping, eventing and Paralympic events – the medals come with a piece of local history as iconic as the Games themselves.
Each medal, whether gold, silver, or bronze, is set with a piece of the original iron from the Eiffel Tower, that most iconic symbol of the City of Lights. Built between 1887 and 1889, the “Dame de fer” has been renovated over the years and it is metal from these renovations that were removed and preserved that have found its way into the Olympic medals.
Of course, this being a Paris-set Olympics you shouldn’t be surprised that the organizers called upon global fashion empire LVMH and its jewelry house Chaumet to create the designs. The result is a “design conceived around three sources of inspiration: the hexagon, radiance, and gem setting.” According to the official press release, the original Eiffel Tower iron was formed in a hexagon, the “geometrical shape of France” and placed in the centre of the medal and imprinted with the emblem of the Paris Games. Chaumet also chose a “Clous de Paris” hobnail shape to resemble the rivets of the Eiffel Tower. The stunning result is like a fine piece of jewelry.