| > | | | | usually rather benign. They were usually one color |
| For over 100 years the Olympics have awarded | | | | and printed with a symbol and the name of the |
| excellence with gold, silver and bronze medals. | | | | Olympic city. It wasn’t until the 1992 |
| What you might not know is that recently medals | | | | Winter Olympics that this changed. The Albertville, |
| have been infused with such substances as glass | | | | France hosted games were known for quirky |
| and jade. As most of you are aware, both | | | | designs, and their glass infused medals were no |
| men’s jewelry and women’s | | | | different. In fact, the medals were more glass |
| jewelry are usually deeply personal and treasured | | | | then precious medal. Athletes didn’t seem |
| pieces of one’s overall ensemble. Many | | | | to mind as they were beautifully crafted and, hey, |
| pieces of a person’s jewelry collection has | | | | an Olympic medal is an Olympic medal. |
| deeply personal meaning as they are collected | | | | The 1994 and 1998 Winter Olympic medals |
| thru special purchases or from a significant other | | | | continued this quirkiness, and it wasn’t until |
| or through family hand-me-downs that passes | | | | 2008 until the usually more traditional Summer |
| antique jewelry thru generations. | | | | Olympics utilized foreign materials in the medals. |
| For athletes, though, there is no better piece of | | | | The highly praised 2008 Beijing Olympic Medals |
| jewelry that you can have in your possession | | | | utilized jade, which gave them both a modern and |
| than an Olympic medal. As the Olympics are in full | | | | classical look. Since China spent billions of dollars |
| swing, a whole new set of athletes are securing | | | | trying to prefect everything about the games (at |
| these sets of medals. Like jewelry, Olympic | | | | least on the surface), it’s no surprise that |
| medals have become more stylish throughout the | | | | they provided some of the most beautiful medals |
| years. In the first Olympics games of the modern | | | | in Olympic history. My guess would be that |
| era in 1896, silver medals were given out to the | | | | London, the host of the 2012 Olympics, presents |
| winners. It wasn’t until later Olympics that | | | | medals that are more in line with the classical |
| the gold for first place, silver for second and | | | | medals instead of using foreign material as the |
| bronze for third system was adapted. | | | | Chinese did. |
| Up until the 1990’s Olympic medals were | | | | |