Why a fragment of the Eiffel Tower is embedded in each Olympic medal.

Chaumet had to meet two requirements when designing the 2024 Olympic medals: reflect the greatness of Paris and honor the sacrifice of the athletes. Napoleon Bonaparte’s iconic jewelry store embedded a steel fragment of the Eiffel Tower to accomplish both objectives.

“Athletes have sacrificed a lot of time to compete. It is an enormous sacrifice and the medal needed to live up to his sacrifice,” Benoît Verhulle, the brand’s master jeweler, explained to EFE.

At the request of the organizing committee, the emblematic house founded 240 years ago had to manage to introduce a small piece of the Eiffel Tower, the quintessential symbol of the French capital.

“That work, to give more shine and grandeur to the medal, was important, along with the work behind it to respect the work of all those athletes. This Holy Grail needed to be up to par.“, he added.

That hexagonal-shaped piece, which integrates the structure of the monument itself, is located in the center of the medal. “The organization wanted above all to have a part of the Eiffel Tower in the medals. Authorization was requested from the company that manages it and then we did our part.”

The medals for the Paralympic Games, which are held shortly after the Olympics (July 26-August 11), also include Braille. “It was something that seemed logical to us. The athletes of these Games must also feel pride and be able to read the medal“Verhulle said.

For the organization committee, the design was what they were looking for, as they wanted an emblem that reflected “what Paris and France represent,” Mathieu Prigent, head of brand, events and ceremonies for Paris 2024, told EFE.

“That’s why it was clear that those who won a medal had to take a little piece of the Eiffel Tower, the symbol of Paris and France.”Prigent highlighted.

Josephine Bonaparte’s jewelry

This ancient and legendary jewelry store was a pioneer in occupying a space in the exclusive Place Vendome, today a global sanctuary of luxury.

In fact, it was purchased in 1999 by the luxury brand group LVMH. It has a history that goes back almost two and a half centuries, as it was founded in 1780 by the goldsmith Marie-Étienne Nitot, an apprentice of whom he was the official jeweler. of Marie Antoinette, even in times of the monarchy.

It was after the turbulent French Revolution (1789-1799) when the house established itself as a world reference in jewelry.

Nitot made a name for himself by decorating the crown of Pope Pius VII and the sword used in Napoleon Bonaparte’s coronation as emperor (1804) and later becoming the official jeweler of the Empress Josephine.

Since then, the luxury jewelry store, located on Place Vendome since 1812, has been adapting to the tastes of the different eras it spans, from romanticism, to the Belle Époque, through cubism and futurism, while its clientele It became increasingly international.