Relationship medal: Movement of the heart (Vereniging voor Penningkunst 2014, extra medal)

It was time for a new relationship medal. The previous one (Pepe Gregoire 1988) is running out. Erica van Seeters created this intriguing design in stone with magnets and in beautiful packaging.

Recommended for a wedding or other relationship being celebrated. Most are paired male-female, but there are also sets with male-male and female-female. Explanatory note (Van Seeters): 'My great love for stone caused me to choose this material for the relationship medal. Stone is hard, reliable, and contains compressed energy of millions of years. The basic shape of this medal is based on the wedding ring, symbol of eternal love.

I translated two rings into two round medals. One medal depicts the masculine through a male figure. This side is sawn, clean and straight in form. The sawn-in detail also extends to the outside of the medal. The feminine medal is the opposite. In this one, the outside is slightly convex and soft due to the polished plane. The female figure on the inside is round and also soft in form. The masculine and feminine complement each other and are also represented in each individual.

In the heart of the figures I placed a small magnet. This forms the precise midpoint of the medal and the heart of the circle. Love is universal attraction, so the figures will want to connect with the heart. The heart lets itself be moved by the power of love: hence the title: Movement of the Heart. On the magnets I placed iron filings. When you want to separate the two medals from each other, you feel strength and a little resistance to break the magnetic connection.

Once apart, you see that the iron filings radiate from the heart: the eternal longing for Love. Connected together, the two medals can roll. They dance through life and form one inseparable whole. The wooden box in which the two medals fit together represents a sturdy building block as the foundation for any relationship, marital or otherwise. The closed block can also be used as a small plinth for the medal. Even after opening, each part can serve as a small plinth for the two halves of the medal.

It is a box made of oak and all sides are of equal length (5 cm). The box closes by means of four small magnets recessed in the corners of each part. Just like the two medals, the two parts are one.'. The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, holds this object as NG-C-2017-172-1; its record gives material recorded as iron (metal); measurements diameter 3.7 cm x weight 44 g. Description translated from the museum's Dutch catalogue text; details are those of this museum object, and how far it represents a wider type has not been independently verified.