It has not been six months since the Paris 2024 ended, and several athletes have publicly denounced the significant deterioration of their medals, designed by the jeweller Chaumet and produced with recycled iron from the Eiffel Tower.
The 5,084 medals that will be awarded to athletes at this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris will include an original piece in the shape of a hexagon taken from the Eiffel Tower, organisers announced on Thursday as they unveiled the design created by Chaumet.
An original piece of the Eiffel Tower will be included in the medals awarded to athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. A hexagonal piece of iron has been taken from the French capital’s most emblematic monument, representing the city’s image. It will be placed in the centre.
The organizers announced this when they presented their design. The 5,084 gold, silver, and bronze medals will have a six-sided metal medallion set like a precious stone. The medallion was designed by the elite French jeweller Chaumet. “We wanted to offer a piece of the 1889 Eiffel Tower to all the medallists of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said the head of the local organizing committee, Tony Estanguet, in statements collected by AFP.
They “combine our most precious metals – gold, silver and bronze – with our country’s most precious metal, from this treasure that is Eiffel Tower”.
The design by Chaumet, whose creations have adorned the aristocracy and the elite since 1780, is also characterised by a circular arrangement of ridges designed to catch the light and evoke the rays of the sun. The iron hexagon, a shape reminiscent of the outline of mainland France, is held in place by six spurs at each corner. These are designed to resemble the rivets used on the Eiffel Tower. A spectacular design.
