What Does Your Basic Badge Look Like?

[happilyanchored]

Originally Posted by DGTess

I miss the days when we called it what it is, though -- the "rose-engraved" badge. That's what it is -- the chasing is very clearly our rose.

In my chapter, everyone ordered the gold rose-engraved badge; I don't think they all do so any more. I wish I could remember for certain, but I thought we ordered our badges early enough in advance that we got our own at initiation. From what I read on GC, that doesn't seem to be the case with any groups.

I wish I had my own at initiation! But I also loved wearing my pledge family member's badge because it was a reminder of how special our bond is that she was the one to initiate me.

Part of our final new member meeting was the director of ritual came with borrowed badges from chapter members for us to look at and told us what our options were and where to order. We were then left pretty much to our own devices in terms of what we wanted to order and when. I ordered mine when I got home for the summer and had a better idea of how much I could spend. I was one of few to get a basic badge in my new member class, I think most people got four- or full-pearled badges.

[MysticCat]

As I've noted in some other threads, the only choice we have is whether to upgrade to gold plate or 10K gold. But stone-wise and setting-wise, they're the same:




There was a time that the basic badge was scrolled, with no jewels:



During that time, the jeweled options were close-set and crown-set (no choice as to jewels). I'm not sure when the non-jeweled scrolled badge was first offered as the basic option, but it was discontinued in 2003. The pearls and garnets (originally rubies) were part of the design approved by the National Convention in 1910.

I have no clue if there's much of a size difference over the years.