A hexagonal piece of metal from the Eiffel Tower set in the center with rays reminiscent of the pleats of a cockade, the Paris Mint is putting the finishing touches to the medals which will reward the athletes on the podiums of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The manufacture of the 5,084 medals, designed by Chaumet (LVMH group), began in January in the public establishment which manufactures all French coins, and should be completed at the end of June with the preparation of the last Paralympic medals.
From the pieces of metal delivered to the Hôtel de la currency, an 18th century building on the banks of the Seine, to the finished medals, “there are more than 30 steps”, explains the CEO of the institution, Marc Schwartz.
In this classic setting where industrial machines and artisanal tools in wood and metal come together, each medal passes from one workshop to another, carefully handled by workers and craftsmen who ensure the perfection of the details at each stage.
The metal circles will pass three times through the press with a pressure of 700 tonnes to engrave the motifs: rays on the front, and on the back goddess Niké of victory on the Olympic medals and view of the Eiffel Tower with braille inscriptions for the Paralympics.
“For us it’s not a medal, it’s a piece of jewelry. And we thought of it as a unique piece for each athlete,” says Benoit Verhulle, workshop manager for the jeweler Chaumet.
“In this medal we have all the know-how of our craftsmen, it is French through the know-how of the Monnaie de Paris of the Maison Chaumet,” he adds.
Today it is the tradition to let the organizing country manufacture the Olympic medals itself, but the Paris Mint had been called upon by Pierre de Coubertin since the first games of the modern era in 1896 in Athens. It has since made the medals for the 1900, 1924, 1968 and 1992 games, which took place in France.
– “Pride” –
“It’s a source of pride for us” to have made these medals, explains Jacky Frehel, industrial director of the Monnaie de Paris, who smiles at the idea that they will brighten up by the end of the summer. around the world following the winners of the different events.
Especially since these bronze, silver and gold circles required a lot of development work from the establishment’s craftsmen and engineers, for example to create the insert of one end of the Eiffel Tower, coming from the stocks of the company operating the Parisian monument.
“Having a piece of an icon of Paris, the Eiffel Tower, was literally magical. We didn’t know if it was possible to do it,” explains Joachim Roncin, design director for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“It’s a discussion that three of us had with the Monnaie de Paris and the Chaumet house during “a year and a half of meetings around these medals,” he adds.
Another specificity: the disappearance of the bail, the ring which allows the ribbon of the medal to slide, the ribbon being inserted directly into a groove on the edge of the medal.
“A real technical challenge”, carried out by a technician who managed to adapt an existing machine, according to Mr. Schwartz.
The engraving of the proofs for which they are intended and the wrapping are the last stages of the journey of the medals at the Paris Mint, at the rate of 120 per day.
They are then carefully packaged to be handed over to Brinks, a company specializing in cash transport, which will be responsible for keeping them in a safe place before distributing them to the locations of each event.
To prevent the medals from getting lost or delivered to the wrong place, each ribbon is also equipped with an electronic chip.
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