The gold medal at the Paris Olympics is possibly the highest value of any in the history of the modern games, primarily because of the record high prices for gold.
The value of the gold medal to an athlete who has spent much of his or her life pursuing such a goal can’t be measured. But the materials used for the gold, silver and bronze medals can. The podium cost of a 2024 Olympic gold medal is approximately US$950, based on the spot price of gold, silver and iron on the morning of July 24 and the amount of those materials that are used for the medal.
It is possibly the highest value of any gold medal in the history of the modern games, primarily because of record high prices for gold. It surpasses the US$708 record for the 2012 London Olympics. However, it should be noted that the value of all the previous gold medals has increased dramatically based on the record price of gold.
All medals are 85 millimetres across and 9.2 millimetres thick.
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Iron From The Eiffel Tower—And 6 Grams Of Gold
The Olympic gold medal weighs 529 grams, more than 95.4% of the medal is actually made of silver (505 grams). Six grams consists of pure gold, which serves as the plating for the medal, and 18 grams consists of iron, according to various reports. If the gold medal was made of pure gold, it would be valued at approximately US$41,161.50. This is why the last time pure gold medals were presented was in 1912.
The silver medal weighs 525 grams with 507 grams made of silver and 18 grams of iron. Its value based on the July 24 silver spot price for silver and iron is approximately US$486.
The bronze medal weighs 455 grams and consists of 415.15 grams of copper, 21.85 grams of zinc and 18 grams of iron. Its podium value is approximately $13.
From left: the silver, gold and bronze medals of the Paris 2024 Olympics designed by French high jeweler, Chaumet. (Photo by Thomas SAMSON / AFP) (Photo by THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images)
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Iron isn’t usually a metal used in the making of Olympic medals, but it’s not just ordinary iron. It comes from the Eiffel Tower, the universally recognized symbol of Paris and France.
The metal specifically came from sections of the monument that were removed to modernize the elevator sometime in the 20th century. The metal was refined in the forges of the city of Pompey, in eastern France through a process called “puddling.” Once the excess carbon from the cast iron is removed, the iron that remains is “almost pure and extremely robust,” according to the official Olympic website.
When determining the intrinsic value of the Olympic medal, the design typically isn’t included in the price. However, for these medals, this may change, as they were designed by the historic French high jewelry house, Chaumet.
Founded in the 18th century, the jeweller with its workshops in the equally historic Place Vendôme in Paris is perhaps best known for producing jewels and tiaras for French and British royalty. In a statement, LVMH, the French luxury holding company that owns Chaumet, say it is the first jeweler in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to design the medals.
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French Symbolism On The Olympic Medals
The iron from the Eiffel Tower, stripped of its brown paint, is incorporated into the center of all the medals in a hexagon shape, which serves as the overall shape of the country. It is engraved with the emblem of the Paris 2024 Games, which unites the gold medal, the Olympic flame, and the face of Marianne—a cherished symbol of the revolution and the people of France. The words “Paris Olympics,” and the Olympics logo of five rings appear below the emblem.
A series of metal rays coming from the iron center evoke the radiance of the nation as it hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, as well as that of the athletes. “This radiance is heightened by the faceting on the medals, designed to reflect light and evoke the French capital’s nickname, the ‘City of Light,’” Chaumet said in its statement. “At the same time, it imparts a special brilliance to the athletes who will wear the medals around their necks.”
The Men’s Paralympic gold medals for wheelchair basketball for the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games displayed in the workshops of La Monnaie de Paris. (Photo by BERTRAND GUAY / AFP) (Photo by BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
Connecting the iron center to the series of rays are two techniques frequently used by Chaumet for its high jewels and watches. Six metal appendages on each corner of the hexagon-shaped center use a “griffe setting” technique, an ornamental and often oversized decorative overhanging setting. The appearance of the griffe setting is designed to be like the “Clous de Paris” hobnail motif, consisting of small pyramid-like squares, found in fine jewelry and watchmaking. More specifically, it is designed to imitate the pattern of rivets on the Eiffel Tower.
As with every Olympics, the reverse side of the Paris medals tells the story of the rebirth of the Games in Greece, an adaptation introduced of the goddess of victory and the stadium for the Olympic Games Athens 2004 designed by Elena Votsi. A traditional feature of the medals since 2004, the goddess of victory Athena Nike represented in the foreground, emerging from the Panathenaic Stadium that witnessed the revival of the Olympic Games in 1896. The Acropolis of Athens, another compulsory feature of the Olympic medals, is joined by the Eiffel Tower for the first time in the Paris 2024 design, which Chaumet says links the inspiration of the ancient games in Greece, the French origins of the modern Olympic Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The front and reverse side of the Paris 2024 Olympic medals. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
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There are no such restrictions for the reverse side of the Paralympics medals. This is where Chaumet was truly able to express itself. The medal presents a graphic representation of the Eiffel Tower from an upward perspective, a rarely seen angle. The words “Paris” and “2024” surround the feet of the tower written in Braille, the symbolic language of accessibility and a reference to its French inventor, Louis Braille. To enable athletes with visual impairments to feel the difference between the medals, dashes are engraved on the edge: I for gold, II for silver and III for bronze.
A great deal of symbolism is reflected in the ribbons for the medals as well. All the medal ribbons are adorned with the Eiffel Tower lattice work. The Olympic medal ribbons are dark blue, while those of the Paralympic medals are a deep red—a mix of the first two coats of paint (“Venice red” and “red-brown”) used on the Eiffel Tower.
