We’ve all seen them – the machines at popular tourist sites that produce a metal disc stamped with a design representing some aspect of the site in question. But it’s also possible to obtain something better than simple, mass-produced designs – this is where customized medals for the tourist industry come into play!
Customized medals offer visitors an enduring souvenir of their visit
Living in a throwaway culture that seems ephemeral in the extreme, many people hanker after meaningful, concrete ways of remembering a holiday or day-trip to a favourite location. With even photographs largely confined to the virtual realm, it’s not surprising that tourists love the tangible nature of customized medals. As medal designs can be produced in both 2-D and 3-D (relief or sunken relief), there are ample opportunities to create realistic portrayals of landscapes and natural wonders, local heroes, the coats of arms of towns or regions and other aspects of an area’s history, culture and geography.
The riches of the Pyrenees – a perfect subject for medal designs
As one of France’s most striking natural regions, the Pyrenees are ripe for immortalization in a medal design. Usually brass and bronze are the most common metals used in making medals, but gold and silver are also employed. Most designs are monochrome, although there’s a wide variety of finishes that can be used to create different effects. However, it’s also perfectly possible to capture something of the Pyrenees’ natural beauty with the use of either liquid resins or hard enamel. Crucially, both these techniques allow for the creation of coloured designs. Enamel designs are, technically-speaking, more challenging to create. However, the colours produced in this way are very hard wearing. Modern cutting machinery enables designs to be almost any shape imaginable. The average medal is between 5 and 9cm across, making it a very easily-transported souvenir or gift. They also tend to be lightweight – another bonus if you’ve some way to go before you get home!