When you order your badges - how quickly do you get them?
 

Corbin Dallas's comment about nationals being slow to send out badges to new members got me thinking... I'm just curious - how quickly do you get your badges?

AEPhi is very quick about sending out badges, so we always have them for initiation. The only customization that is available is that your initials are engraved on the back - and you can either get a chapter guard or not. It means a lot to me because the badge I got at initiation was mine, not someone else's.

My freshman year roommates (one AXO, one Theta) had to wait several months for their badges to come in. I saw the Theta catalog, and they allow a LOT of customization - you can get pearls, diamonds, 10K or 14K gold, etc. and they can cost upwards of $1000. :eek: Of course, they come in long after initiation, so new initiates receive their big sisters' badges and keep them until their own pins come in.

I did think it was odd - I remember AXO hosting a party (10 years since their colonization, or something like that) and a lot of older sisters were wearing their new member pins... it took me a while before I realized their littles had their badges :)

I suspect that this is partially dependent on how efficient the chapter is at ordering/paying for badges.

The way it's supposed to work in Delt is that you get your badge at initiation as part of the Ritual, but I have seen times where "actives" badges had to be borrowed either because the new ones had not been ordered in time, or the chapter couldn't pay for them due to not having collected fees and/or dues.

ZTA takes FOREVER! When initiated, our chapter has our new members wear our bis sister's pins until we receive ours. The pin I was supposed to be receiving was a plain gold pin while my big had one with pearls and sapphires. When I was getting initiated, as she put the pin on me she whispered in my ear, "If you lose this, I will kill you." I was too afraid to wear it after I heard those words. ;) I finally received my pin towards the end of the Spring semester (I pledged in fall). But, that year, we got lucky. Most of the time our new members do not receive their pins until the third day of recruitment. That's the way it was for PC 2000 and PC 1998. I lost my pin during recruitment and had to reorder another. I will probably have to wait until this coming recruitment to see my new pin. :(

Kappa Delta's usually come about 3/4 weeks after initiation. We tack it on to their first installment of initiation fee, so they are never there for initation. Usually new initates get pinned with their big sister's pin. And yes, I have uttered the "You lose this, I'll kill you" phrase a time or two.. :)

My grandlittle has my badge right now and if she loses it I will not kill her, but she will be purchasing me a new one ;-)

PINS
 

The main problem with ordering Active Badges/Pins before they are initiated is they may not make it because of grades!
I know I ordered a guard 2 months ago and still have not got it, but they are not done overnight, even though you make think so! Try and have jewells put in Badges that are missing some! It is as expensive as hell! We have a basic not jewell badge for 10.00 that they can get but if you are into it, who wants that!::(

All I know I designed a local badge and Balfour was the biggie then and this but head never told me there could be something close and I had to pay a set up fee way back when!:mad:

If your National has a tie in it should not take that long as all they have to do is add your requirements! Local Badges are different! If you are a local, you will need to fine a jeweller, not a local store who can produce them and have badges ready for the stones you may want! The one I have from LXA is not in the catalog anymore but has to be special ordered!

Find a major Organization jeweler and see what they say!:)

Hopefully good!:D

Re: When you order your badges - how quickly do you get them?
 

you're right...we give our badges to our little until she gets her own. i think it makes the process special...since you are giving your little something that means so dear to you.

Alpha Chi Omega's new member pin was designed especially to wear with the member badge. unlike many other sororities, we keep our new member stick pin for life and do not have to give it in when we get initiated. many members wear both their pin and badge together. i think they look beautiful together!

but you're right aephialum...that could get confusing to someone who doesn't know! :D

I was initiated in April, I got my badge in June. We had a fairly small (miniature, really) pledge class, so maybe that's an issue. I've ordered chapter jewelry from the jeweler, and it takes about 6-8 weeks for an individual to order something. Maybe it takes longer to order it straight from National. We don't have that much variety with our badges, so I really can't tell you for sure.

Re: PINS
 

I have some sisters who have had pearls fall out of their badges, luckily there is a GREAT jewlery store near the school. They do all their work on site and will replace the stones. Their prices are not at all exspensive (but obviously vary by the stone being replaced) and the work is excellent

just edited to say that they also finish the work quickly, when they have the items on site you can get your jewlery back in less than a week, sending it in the the company takes SO much longer!

we don't get initiated until the semester after we pledge, so we always have our pins by then. It does take about a month or two though, because you can customize your pin with diamonds or pearls, 10K, 14K or gold filled...it's amazing!

I seem to remember waiting 2 months to get my pin, (although that may have been due to chapter error!) During initiation, I got my big sister's pin. This past fall, my twin took two littles, so one of my nieces has mine. Maybe next fall I will have a little to pass mine down to!

We had to wait about 3-4 months to get ours

I didn't know that we could customize our pins. I have a pearl pin, but now I want diamonds! :cool: Where can I see that?

check out this other thread ...
 

This thread has some good info too ...

http://greekchat.com/gcforums/showth...=13602#newpost

I'm totally estatic; we got our badges tonight!! They took 2 months to get here, but we got to customize them. Mine has pearls along the edges, and amythests at the corners, with my name, initiation date, and chapter on the back. I'm going to go show it off now! :D :D :D