French jeweller Chaumet has unveiled the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic medals, inset with real pieces of the Eiffel Tower to give athletes an "unforgettable souvenir" of the games.
Much like a piece of jewellery, each medal features a claw setting on its rear face, which instead of a gemstone holds a hexagonal slice of iron from Paris's most iconic monument.
The rear of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games medals will contain a fragment of the Eiffel Tower
Removed during various renovation works over the course of the 20th century, the scrap metal was preserved by the Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel before being given a new purpose for the Paris 2024 games.
"We wanted these medals to be truly unique, to bear the Paris 2024 signature," said Tony Estanguet, president of the organising committee for this year's games. "To achieve this, we married the strongest symbol of the Games, the medal, with the ultimate symbol of Paris and France around the world, the Eiffel Tower."
The pieces of Eiffel Tower are hexagon shaped
For Paris 2024, the Paralympic Games will use the same torch, emblem, mascots and stadiums as the Olympics, in a bid to promote greater parity between the events.
With this aim, the medals for both games will also share a common look courtesy of Chaumet ? the first jeweller ever to be entrusted with their design.
A three-dimensional radial pattern decorates the rear face
On their reverse side, the medals are stamped...