An Olympic First – Jeweller Designs Medals
七月 25, 2024by SHILPA DHAMIJA
"In an unprecedented move for the Olympics, a high jewellery brand will design the Olympic and Paralympic medals. Shilpa Dhamija reports that this collaboration with LVMH blends Parisian elegance with Olympic tradition, promising a memorable celebration of art and sport.
For the first time in the history of the Olympics, a high jewellery brand has designed and made medals for both the Olympic and Paralympic games. Set to commence on 26th July in Paris, Olympic Games 2024 will award its winners, medals crafted by a two and half century old French maison – Chaumet as part of the Olympic organisation’s creative partnership with LVMH, the world’s biggest luxury conglomerate which is also the parent company of Chaumet.
This is the third time the Olympics will be hosted in Paris. The French capital previously hosted the games in 1900 and 1924.
In designing the medals, Chaumet has taken inspiration from Paris’ rich art and cultural heritage. In the centre of each medal, Chaumet has added an authentic piece of iron from the Eiffel Tower that was collected and preserved during its renovations, to feature a “little piece of France in its heart”. The metal insert is placed in a hexagon shape in each medal. The Eiffel Tower built between 1887-1889 has been renovated several times and some of its parts are permanently removed and preserved by the Eiffel Tower Operating Company.
The high-jewellery brand has employed its expert savoir-faire to craft the medals. A ‘griffe setting’ has been used to insert the Eiffel Tower iron piece in the centre. Chaumet uses the same technique to insert precious gemstones in its high jewellery.
The same side of the medals are covered with a carpet of guilloché carving, a popular decorative style used in jewellery and watch designs by French and Swiss maisons. This carving style was chosen for the medals to create an attractive and reflective surface representing the ‘city of lights’ – a popular nickname of Paris city.
On the obverse side of the medals, Chaumet has paid tribute to Greece, the birthplace of the Olympic games, by refashioning the 2003 design of Greek designer Elena Votsi, of the Greek goddess of victory – Nike against a backdrop of Athens. In the background, positioned behind the Greek goddess on one side is the Athens Acropolis where the first modern Olympics were hosted in 1896 and on the other side of Nike is the Eiffel Tower representing the host city of 2024 games.
In 2003, the International Olympic Committee initiated a competition to introduce a new depiction of Nike against a Greek backdrop, replacing the older design that featured Nike against Rome’s Colosseum. This change was made to correct the origins of the Olympics, which were started in Greece, not Italy.
For the Paralympic 2024 medals, Chaumet has used the braille language on one side of the medal to portray accessibility as well as honour the French inventor of the language, Louis Braille.
The design of the Paralympic 2024 games varies from that of the Olympic medals. The Paralympic medals do not have the Nike goddess on them, instead they feature a view of the Eiffel Tower as seen from the ground up. The Paralympic medals too feature the hexagon shaped iron from the Eiffel Tower on one side.
While the Olympic medals will be awarded with blue ribbons, the Paralympic medals have red ribbons. Both ribbons are weaved in high quality French savoir-faire and printed with the tapered lines seen on the Eiffel Tower.
In a press statement Antoine Arnault, head of LVMH Image & Environment explained that Chaumet delved into the archives and explored powerful symbols of Olympism to imagine a medal inspired by high jewellery 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.”
Historically, Olympic medal designs have often been decided through design competitions in the host country. For the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the winning medal designs were created by Junichi Kawanishi, director of the Japan Sign Design Association and the Osaka Design Society.
As the creative partner of Paris 2024 games, LVMH has enlisted several of its other maisons such as Dior, Berluti, Louis Vuitton, Moët Hennessy and Sephora to contribute their creativity at various key moments during the Olympic games. Berluti will be designing the menswear for the French athletes participating in the Olympics opening ceremony, while Sephora is the official partner of the Olympic and Paralympic torch relays."
Source: www.gjepc.org