Century-old foundry crafting bells used in Olympic Games for 3 generations

Huguenin shows a template used to craft the bells of Paris 2024 Olympics, in his foundry, in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Photo: AFP

The air is stifling hot, with a heavy, metallic smell that sticks in the throat and stings the eyes.

In his foundry with smoke-blackened walls, Alois Huguenin uses an enormous ladle to pour molten bronze at 1,250ºC into a metal frame.