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See Chaumet’s Paris Olympic Medals Inspired by its High Jewelry
The Parisian brand is the first jewelry company in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to design the medals.
Chaumet, a Parisian jeweler owned by LVMH, has designed the Olympic and Paralympic Games medals.
Paris—Chaumet has made its mark as the first jeweler in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to design the medals.
The LVMH-owned brand’s creative team worked with the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, led by Olympic canoeist Tony Estanguet, to create the medals, first revealing them in February.
“This first ever Olympic medal created by a jeweler is emblematic of LVMH’s role as creative partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024,” said Antoine Arnault of LVMH Image and Environment.
“In a close creative dialogue between Paris 2024 and Chaumet, the artisans of the maison delved into their archives and explored powerful symbols of Olympism to imagine a medal inspired by high jewelry creations. Building on its centuries of rich history, Chaumet is writing a new page that will remain engraved in the heritage of the Maison for eternity.”
One side of the medal pays tribute to Paris while the other showcases the design heritage of Chaumet and the history of the Olympic Games.
“The medal design is both confident and bold, perfectly matched to the sporting feats of the athletes,” said LVMH.
The LVMH-owned brand’s creative team worked with the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, led by Olympic canoeist Tony Estanguet, to create the medals, first revealing them in February.
“This first ever Olympic medal created by a jeweler is emblematic of LVMH’s role as creative partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024,” said Antoine Arnault of LVMH Image and Environment.
“In a close creative dialogue between Paris 2024 and Chaumet, the artisans of the maison delved into their archives and explored powerful symbols of Olympism to imagine a medal inspired by high jewelry creations. Building on its centuries of rich history, Chaumet is writing a new page that will remain engraved in the heritage of the Maison for eternity.”
One side of the medal pays tribute to Paris while the other showcases the design heritage of Chaumet and the history of the Olympic Games.
“The medal design is both confident and bold, perfectly matched to the sporting feats of the athletes,” said LVMH.
The medal features a series of rays, symbolizing the radiance of Paris, also known as the City of Lights, with the medals’ faceting meant to reflect light.
“At the same time, it imparts a special brilliance to the athletes who will wear the medals around their necks. These rays engraved in the metal breathe dynamism and life into this exceptional object,” said LVMH.
As is tradition, the metals used were gold, silver, and bronze, but the designers also added something special.
The hexagon-shaped center of each medal is an authentic piece of iron from the Eiffel Tower, preserved during the monument’s renovation, allowing the winners to keep a piece of Paris close to their hearts.
The iron center was set using a technique called “griffe setting,” which Chaumet uses for gemstones in its high jewelry pieces.
“This setting evokes the ‘Clous de Paris’ hobnail motif found in fine jewelry, as well as the pattern of rivets on the Eiffel Tower itself,” said the brand.
The hexagon shape is meant to be a symbol of both France and Chaumet, who has often incorporated the eight-sided shape into its jewelry.
The reverse side, which is the same for all games, depicts the story of the rebirth of the modern Olympic Games in Greece.
Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, is shown against the backdrop of the Acropolis leaving the Panathenaic Stadium, where the first Modern Olympics were held in 1896.
In honor of the host city, the Eiffel Tower stands beside the Acropolis.
“For the return of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to Paris 100 years later, we had to revive this symbol in an exceptional way,” said Clémentine Massonnat, creative director of Chaumet, in a video about the creative process.
Paris previously hosted the 1924 Summer Olympics.
For the Paralympic medals, Chaumet’s team was given carte blanche, said the brand.
The obverse side depicts a view from the foot of the Eiffel Tower, as if a visitor or Parisian was looking up at it.
The “Paris 2024” inscription is also engraved in universal braille for accessibility and to honor the language’s French inventor, Louis Braille.
The red or blue ribbons on the medals were inspired by the tapered lines of the Eiffel Tower.
“More than a medal, this is a combination of the most coveted object of the Games and the most iconic symbol of Paris and France, the Eiffel Tower,” said Estanguet, who is also president of Paris 2024.
“Thanks to Chaumet, the medal for the Paris 2024 Games becomes a veritable objet d’art, a jewel that brings together the radiance of Paris and the crowning achievement of all those who will ascend the podiums during the Olympics and Paralympics.”
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