There will be a hexagon-shaped piece of iron from the original Eiffel Tower set in the middle of 5,084 gold, silver, and bronze medals for the Olympic and Paralympic games, resembling a gemstone.
According to Estanguet, the medals were created by the prestigious French jewelry house Chaumet and will blend “the most precious metals from the medals—gold, silver, and bronze.
“Our goal was to present a fragment of the 1889 Eiffel Tower to every medal winner from the Paris Olympics and Paralympics,” stated Tony Estanguet, the head of the local organizing committee, during the design’s unveiling on Thursday.
The iron pieces come from maintenance over the years, as some of the original structure was replaced during renovations. Bronze, silver, and recycled gold will be used in the medals’ manufacturing by the French National Mint.
The ridged edges of the medals are intended to conjure up images of sunlight. The iron hexagon, which evokes the shape of mainland France, is held in place with spurs that look like the rivets on the Eiffel Tower.
Since 2004, the reverse of every medal features the Greek goddess Nike soaring into the Panathinaikos stadium in Athens, the location of the first Olympic Games held in antiquity.
