I figured I would contribute to this thread as seeing images on Google images from this thread is what introduced me to GC.
So my fraternity is Theta Tau, the first and foremost co-ed engineering fraternity. Pictured here is our member's badge which we have used since our first national convention in 1911. The main parts of our badge are the greek letters, the crossed hammer and tongs, the dark red garnet in the middle and pearls around the golden gear, the meaning of which is secret (Sorry for anyone who is curious
).
Prior to this, we existed as the Society of Hammer and Tongs and used this badge which was changed to the current one as it wasn't distinctive and it made it unclear what our fraternity was about.
With that exposition out of the way, here is a picture of what my members badge currently looks like. I still don't know if my crowded badge is impressive or tacky but it certainly is unique among others in my chapter. My chapter does not wear guards or dangles, and when we get initiated, our chapter bulk orders the cheapest option for each member, so our pearls and garnet are fake and our badge is gold plate. Currently I have a dangle on here for even the smallest thing that I've done but I think that when I get a higher quality badge, I will only include dangles for ritual officer positions that I have held. I first saw people wearing guards and dangles at the 2021 National Convention last Summer, which got me wanting to put extra stuff on my badge.
On that note, the mention of the National Convention brings me to the convention bars! When you go to a national convention or a Theta Tau Educational Foundation Leadership Conference, you get a new bar added to your 'ladder'. (Blacked out as the badge has my first and last name on it)
Both the national convention and the leadership conference happen biennially and alternating, so 2021 had a national convention and this summer will have a leadership conference and so on. So, in theory you can add something to your ladder each year, which leads to the older alumni having very long ladders. Pictured is past Grand Regent Dean Bettinger on the left who has the longest set of convention bars I've ever seen, and this is an older picture so it is even longer now.
The last thing that I have is just a bit of miscellaneous information. Below is a sister pin that I saved from fratpin. I don't know if it is still made but if it is, it is a very rare sight. It is just like the members badge except without the hammer and tongs and about half the size. This one in my collection is painted plastic which I didn't realize when I bought it and its missing a fake pearl, but whatever, it's not the end of the world.
If you all have any more questions feel free to ask. I love reading the posts on this thread. Apologies if any of the images are too big, that I my first time trying to embed images into my posts.
