1996 Atlanta-The 1996 Games were given a dramatic start when the cauldron was lit by Muhammad Ali. On 27 July during a concert held in the Centennial Olympic Park, a terrorist bomb killed one person and injured a further 110 people, but the Atlanta Games are best remembered for their sporting achievements. A record-setting 79 nations won medals and 53 won gold. Carl Lewis became only the third person to win the same individual event four times and the fourth person to earn a ninth gold medal. Naim Suleymanoglu became the first weightlifter to win a third gold medal. Michael Johnson smashed the 200m world record to complete a 200m and 400m double.

1896 Athens-The revival of the ancient Olympics attracted athletes from 14 nations, with the largest delegations coming from Greece, Germany, France and Great Britain. On 6 April 1896, the American James Connolly won the triple jump to become the first Olympic champion in more than 1,500 years. Winners were awarded a silver medal and an olive branch. The German athlete Carl Schumann finished in the top five events of three different sports. The people of Athens greeted the Games with great enthusiasm. Their support was rewarded when a Greek shepherd, Spyridon Louis, won the most popular event, the marathon.

Cloisonné-Cloisonné pins require a complex process. The first of this type can be traced back centuries to China. The base metals used are copper and brass. Copper is the most common base metal. Color is provided by mixing powdered glass with purified water. The resulting paste is applied to small wells (cloisons) one or two colors at a time. The pins are then baked at an intense temperature. As one or two different colors are added with thin bamboo pens, they are fired again. The process is repeated until all the colors have been added. The finished pins are sanded until the surface is smooth. Every pin made using the cloisonné method is a miniature work of art. The colors are somewhat limited in cloisonné pins. There are about 110 which are widely used.