Olympic Medals

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Jade, a precious stone known in China as the "royal gem," will be featured prominently, marking the first time the mineral is used in Olympic medals.

All three versions will have the same design, but a white jade will go into the gold medals, a darker shade into the silver medals, and a green jade into the bronze medals. The circle band of jade, visible on the back side, will surround a metal centerpiece engraved with the Beijing Games emblem over the Beijing 2008 logo and Olympic rings.

The front of the medals are plated completely gold, silver or bronze and contain the traditional design engraved on all Olympic medals -- Nike, the winged goddess of victory, and Panathinaikos Arena.

The design was inspired from "bi," which is a flat jade disc containing a circular hole in the center and features an engraved dragon design. It came from a group at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, which won a contest that received 265 submissions from 25 countries.

This was the first time the Olympic medals design was opened to a public competition.

The average medal weighs about five ounces, but these will be slightly heavier and larger. They are 70mm in diameter and 6mm thick.

On the top edge of the medals are interlocking dragons to form the loophole for the medal ribbon, which will be a red strap with cloud designs, the Olympic rings, and the Beijing 2008 logo.

After a global competition resulting in 265 proposals from all over the world, the Beijing Olympic Committee unveiled the XXIX Olympiad medals on the occasion of the 500-day countdown to the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games

Each medal sports the Beijing Olympics logo inlaid with Chinese jade. It's the first time jade of this caliber will be used for an Olympic medal making them the most expensive Olympic medals in history.

The medals are designed with inspiration from "bi", China's ancient jade piece inscribed with dragon pattern. The medals, made of gold and jade, symbolize nobility and virtue and are embodiment of traditional Chinese values of ethics and honor.

The IOC has strict stipulation on the Olympic medals' material, identification, weight, size and drawing. The medals for the champion and the runner-up are made of pure silver, and the champion's medal must be plated with gold weighing not less than six grams each.

On their obverse side, the medals adopt the standard design prescribed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) -- a drawing that represents the winged goddess of victory Nike and Panathinaikos Arena.