Expensive badges - worth it?

[AnchorAlum]

My pin was all pearl and so was my chapter guard. I was so surprised when my parents agreed to pay for it and all these years later it's still beautiful. Of course, my Mother was not in a sorority and I think she thought that everyone had pearl pins!

[Kevin]

I bought one of these several years ago:



I don't regret it at all.

[lovespink88]

My advice would be just do NOT get a gold filled badge (if your sorority offers that option). My parents paid for most of my sorority stuff and I felt guilty that the badge was something else they bought for me, so I just opted for the cheapest option. Don't get me wrong, I like the plain badge with no bling, but it looks so much better in actual gold and not gold fill. Silly 20 year old me

[FSUZeta]

You are a lucky lady(wink-wink)! And I feel your pain about the gold....back in the 70's it was THE thing and my plain badge was gold.

[BabyPiNK_FL]

When I was a new member(2005) my Phi Mu chapter did not offer it as an option. I am not certain if that rule formally existed but now that other people are saying that it makes sense.

Since then I have seen new members allowed to make jeweled badge options. I do not know if that has changed for this year or anything, but in years after me new members had very beautiful jeweled badges.

[KSUViolet06]

I think that this particular issue (collegians and the "what to buy" and "can I afford it) is why we have kept our options fairly limited (no bling, only options that change the price are what type of gold/silver or what type of pearl.) The price is somewhat controlled that way.

As for myself, I'm rather glad I opted for the highest quality gold we offered (thanks dad!) Some of my sisters' badges flaked and looked really dull 6 years out because it was plated/fill.

[BlueOwl]

I was able to select the badge of my choice after I was initiated in 1979. My Big Sis pinned her badge on me at the ceremony. Of the many options available to me, I ended up selecting sapphires for my added bling because it is my birthstone. My daughter, who attended a large public university did not have an option. Every member automatically gets the basic gold badge. It is very plain, but lovely in it's simplicity. And, none of the girls ever seem to mind. I think that they just go with the basic badge to avoid having great disparities within the house due to the fact that some of the members could afford to buy the "crown jewels" version of the badge, while many can afford only the most basic. Many of the members pay for their sorority expenses on their own (not from the "bank of mom and dad").

[barbino]

I'm glad that we have always had many options about what type of jewels to put in the Pi Phi arrow. We even had a limited edition turquoise pin about 2 years back. The legacy pin (one single raised large pearl on a different style arrow; the kind used for the standard initiation badge) is one of my favorites. So is the garnet/aquamarine pin; which comes closest to our wine and silver blue colors. The choice of what type of bling to get on your pin is a very personal decision. When I initiated, I knew exactly what I wanted- alternating pearls & sapphires. I laughed when I found out that this was standard for a "blinged-out" Kappa. I also have the plain gold initiation pin that I believe every Pi Phi still gets upon initiation, and a small "recognition pin" arrow that has one tiny pearl. I wore the first gold arrow that I ever got, the arrow lavaliere, the most, and sadly lost it a few years ago. It's nice to have a plain pin & a jeweled one so that you have a choice. I think that some people buy several pins at different times (one in undergrad; one when you are older & can afford it, etc.). It's all just a matter of personal taste.

[txAOII_15]

Originally Posted by barbino

I'm glad that we have always had many options about what type of jewels to put in the Pi Phi arrow. We even had a limited edition turquoise pin about 2 years back. The legacy pin (one single raised large pearl on a different style arrow; the kind used for the standard initiation badge) is one of my favorites. So is the garnet/aquamarine pin; which comes closest to our wine and silver blue colors. The choice of what type of bling to get on your pin is a very personal decision. When I initiated, I knew exactly what I wanted- alternating pearls & sapphires. I laughed when I found out that this was standard for a "blinged-out" Kappa. I also have the plain gold initiation pin that I believe every Pi Phi still gets upon initiation, and a small "recognition pin" arrow that has one tiny pearl. I wore the first gold arrow that I ever got, the arrow lavaliere, the most, and sadly lost it a few years ago. It's nice to have a plain pin & a jeweled one so that you have a choice. I think that some people buy several pins at different times (one in undergrad; one when you are older & can afford it, etc.). It's all just a matter of personal taste.

Had to google this since I couldn't picture it. NO WONDER carnation wants a little legacy. This pin is precious!

[thetygerlily]

Originally Posted by barbino

The legacy pin (one single raised large pearl on a different style arrow; the kind used for the standard initiation badge) is one of my favorites.

Originally Posted by txAOII_15

Had to google this since I couldn't picture it. NO WONDER carnation wants a little legacy. This pin is precious!

Well don't just tease us- share a picture!

ETA- okay, I'm obviously not patient today. Is this it?

[barbino]

Originally Posted by thetygerlily

Well don't just tease us- share a picture!

ETA- okay, I'm obviously not patient today. Is this it?

This is the mother's pin. Also, when I described the legacy pin, I could not remember whether it had one or two pearls -- thanks for looking & posting. I like to look at the new pin options from time to time & that is how I found out about the turquoise pin that was a limited edition. I don't have a picture (sorry) but it was really pretty & I was tempted. The other thing is that supposedly you can special order a Pi Phi arrow and have it custom-made with almost any type of jewel that you want.

Consider the possibilities- alternating diamond & opal, pearls & turquoise, garnets and sapphires, etc. The possibilities are endless! I have mentioned this on this thread before, I think, but one of my roommates had a custom made arrow with fire opals and a diamond point. It was amazing, and I'm not even an opal fan.

The other thing is that the arrow point can have several styles - plain point, several kinds of engraving (sometimes you can date a pin by engraving style), diamond point, jewel point, etc. So many pins, so little time!

[IndianaSigKap]

I definitely think badges vary by region and school. The women in my chapter had at least the scroll edge badge with pearls, in fact I didn't know you could get the plain scroll badge. Most had either alternating pearl/garnet or pearl with garnet points. When I advised a small chapter, they all had the plain scroll edge. It was rare when a new initiate ordered the pearl point scroll badge. They always liked my original badge (gold, pearls with garnet points). I wore my white gold badge with alternating amethysts and pearls when I volunteered during recruitment at another chapter and several of the chapter women said they wished they had gotten a "blingier" badge for initiation. So basically, I think you buy what you know.

[txAOII_15]

Nope. It's this one.

[AZTheta]

Oh MAN, I'm dying, another thread about badges, be still my heart.

PiPhis - does anyone have a photo of the turquoise pin? Maybe you could post it here and we (me, anybody) could post it over on Badge Trends?

That legacy arrow is gorgeous. Theta doesn't have anything like that.

KSUViolet, there's no way around it: if you can afford 14K, go for it. It's so rich looking and ages beautifully. Yes, yes, yes it is expensive. That's why I said "if you can afford (it)".

[aephi alum]

As I have frequently griped, I wish AEPhi had a white gold option.

As it is, our only option is guard or no guard. (There are now two badge options, but they are all but identical.) You could order a chapter guard later on if you didn't want to spring for one right away - as we all know, the new member semester is the most expensive (setting aside costs for living in-house in a housed chapter). In my case, I had to wait for my guard, because I was initiated while my chapter was still a colony. Only when we were chartered and had an actual chapter designation could we get guards.

I don't think I would have gone for bling as a collegiate even if we'd had the option. I would have been paranoid about losing it, or about pinning a little sister with it and having her lose it.

If AEPhi announced a white gold option tomorrow, I'd be first in line. But since it will never happen (we all have identical badges for a reason), I suppose I will have to live with the badge I received at my initiation.

I do also have one other piece of jewelry with my letters. My school has a very distinctive class ring, but women also have the option of a dinner ring. (I got both.) The dinner ring can be white or yellow gold. On one shank they engrave your class year. On the other shank, you can choose your sorority letters or "MIT". I went with my sorority letters, and white gold(!). I've frequently worn this ring to events such as weddings.