Tell Us About Your Org's Badge

[KillarneyRose]

Despite my many years as a sorority woman, I still don't know exactly which sororities require every member to wear the same badge and which allow variations, and I'm curious.

I've filled out the list below to the best of my knowledge but would love if members of other orgs could chime in and let us know what leeway, if any, they have in choosing a Badge.

Just make a post if you'd like to help and I'll edit this post accordingly.

Alpha Chi Omega:

Alpha Delta Pi: Alpha Delta Pi has no restrictions on jewels, no jewels, or metal color, although we don't currently offer gold fill badges and I've never seen one for sale online. We also don't currently offer no jewels for sale. (Thank you, clemsongirl!)

Alpha Epsilon Phi: The badge is the letters Alpha, Epsilon, Phi, set with a total of 27 pearls, on a yellow gold bar. Our only customization options were (a) you could have your initials engraved on the back of the bar, and (b) you could get a chapter guard if you wanted. The guard has the chapter's Greek letter designation, also in yellow gold and also set with pearls to match the badge. Currently a few variants are available. I think you can pick 10k or 14k gold. But the design is the same. (Thank you, aephi alum!)

Alpha Gamma Delta:

Alpha Omicron Pi:

Alpha Phi:

Alpha Sigma Alpha:

Alpha Sigma Tau: Gold or crown pearl badges are worn by initiated sisters.
A ruby (at the four points) badge is worn by sisters who serve as nationally-recognized volunteers.
A yellow topaz (at the four points) badge is worn by NPC Delegation members.
An emerald (at the four points) badge is worn by National Council members and National Officers.
A (double-bordered) diamond badge is worn by the National President and Past National Presidents. (Thank you, ASTalumna06!)

Alpha Xi Delta:

Chi Omega:

Delta Delta Delta: Tri Delta member's badges are 10kt gold with pearls. The field consultants have aquamarine instead of pearl. ,Our national president has emeralds and the national officers have antique badges that may have a variety of stones. (Thank you, 3DGator!)

Delta Gamma: Delta Gamma's anchor can be white or yellow gold. Some are totally plain, some are engraved, and others have pearls and/or diamonds. Council badges have all diamonds with additional emeralds and Foundation trustees have sapphires in place of the emeralds. (Thank you, Titchou!)

Delta Phi Epsilon: can choose pearls or chased border. You also have your choice of gold fill or real gold.

Delta Zeta: All members wear the same Badge

Gamma Phi Beta:

Kappa Alpha Theta: Kappa Alpha Theta has two sizes (small crown and large crown) and a variety of different jewels within the crown (edging). The face of the badge itself never changes though. (Thank you, IrishLake!)

Kappa Delta:

Kappa Kappa Gamma:

Phi Mu:

Phi Sigma Sigma:

Pi Beta Phi:

Sigma Delta Tau:

Sigma Kappa:

Sigma Sigma Sigma: "Tri Sigma has limited variety. There are basically 3 options. You can choose gold and pearl (closed or crown), silver and pearl (closed or crown), or gold with alternating crown pearl and amethysts. There are no custom options at this time." (Thank you, KSUViolet06!)

Theta Phi Alpha:

Zeta Tau Alpha:

[KSUViolet06]

Tri Sigma has limited variety. There are basically 3 options. You can choose gold and pearl (closed or crown), silver and pearl (closed or crown), or gold with alternating crown pearl and amethysts. There are no custom options at this time.

[clemsongirl]

Alpha Delta Pi has no restrictions on jewels, no jewels, or metal color, although we don't currently offer goldfill badges and I've never seen one for sale online. We also don't currently offer no jewels for sale, which I think is too bad because my mom's badge is plain and it's very elegant.

Here is the official brochure of badge designs available from Herff-Jones. The convention badge design changes every two years with our Convention and I believe is offered for the calendar year in which the convention takes place. I wasn't even an ADPi when our 2013 Convention took place in Dallas, but I ordered the badge anyways because it was limited edition and had red, white, and blue stones.

As an aside, I have a badge that has no black enamel in the center of it, and I wish I knew anything about it because I've never seen that anywhere either. No idea if it's technically kosher or not. The stones are opal with sapphire points and there's no information on the back.

[aephi alum]

When I was a collegian, all sisters wore the exact same badge. The badge is the letters Alpha, Epsilon, Phi, set with a total of 27 pearls, on a yellow gold bar. Our only customization options were (a) you could have your initials engraved on the back of the bar, and (b) you could get a chapter guard if you wanted. The guard has the chapter's Greek letter designation, also in yellow gold and also set with pearls to match the badge.

Currently a few variants are available. I think you can pick 10k or 14k gold. But the design is the same.

The upside is that we pretty much always had our new members' badges in time for initiation, as it doesn't take long to engrave initials or attach a guard. The badge I received at initiation is the same badge I wear today - not a loaner, and not my big sister's badge (which would have been impossible as I am a chapter founder and therefore don't have a big sister... but I digress).

The downside is, well, there's no customization allowed. I really wish we'd had the option of white gold, as I prefer silver/white gold/platinum to yellow gold.

Also - I know you didn't ask this - but AEPhis are not permitted to wear the badge or new member pin in any form other than as a pin. No badge rings, pendants, etc.

tl;dr: All AEPhi sisters wear essentially the same badge.

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by clemsongirl

Alpha Delta Pi has no restrictions on jewels, no jewels, or metal color, although we don't currently offer goldfill badges and I've never seen one for sale online. We also don't currently offer no jewels for sale, which I think is too bad because my mom's badge is plain and it's very elegant.

Here is the official brochure of badge designs available from Herff-Jones. The convention badge design changes every two years with our Convention and I believe is offered for the calendar year in which the convention takes place. I wasn't even an ADPi when our 2013 Convention took place in Dallas, but I ordered the badge anyways because it was limited edition and had red, white, and blue stones.

As an aside, I have a badge that has no black enamel in the center of it, and I wish I knew anything about it because I've never seen that anywhere either. No idea if it's technically kosher or not. The stones are opal with sapphire points and there's no information on the back.

I.Am.Drooling! That pin is amazing!

During Recruitment, we used to tell the PNMs that we all wear the black diamond pin, but as individuals, could personalize our pins with various stones and sizes.

[unarose]

Not NPC, but SAI has one uniform badge design, with the only variant options being metal quality and then how the pearls are set in to the badge. For example, the default that is included in the initiation fee is Vermeil with Semi-Crown set pearls. The upgrade option given is for 10k gold with Crown set pearls (which is the badge I have). The only sister to have anything different is our National President, whose badge is passed from President to President and that badge is all diamonds instead of pearls, and also has a diamond enhancer that goes around it. There’s a picture of it in the Badge Pics thread, which I took at our 2012 National Convention.

Essentially, we all wear the same badge, as the metal quality and how the pearls are set aren’t really obvious differences unless you’re examining the badges up close.

[Titchou]

Delta Gamma's anchor can be white or yellow gold. Some are totally plain, some are engraved, and others have pearls and/or diamonds. Council badges have all diamonds with additional emeralds and Foundation trustees have saphires in place of the emeralds.

[Xidelt]

Delta Phi Epsilon: you can choose pearls or chased border. You also have your choice of gold fill or real gold.

[3DGator]

Tri Delta member's badges are 10kt gold with pearls. The field consultants have aquamarine instead of pearl. ,Our national president has emeralds and the national officers have antique badges that may have a variety of stones. Please correct me if there are inaccuracies.

[IrishLake]

Kappa Alpha Theta has two sizes (small crown and large crown) and a variety of different jewels within the crown (edging). The face of the badge itself never changes though.

http://kappaalphatheta.jlewissmall.c...html?limit=all

[BetaIotaDZ]

First - The ADPi badge pictured earlier on 8/13/18 is AMAZING. Clemsongirl what did site did you use to put the picture on so you could share it on Greek Chat?

Second – Kilarney Rose – so glad you started this thread. Your Delta Zeta badge, while technically the same for all members, is not always the same. The national president's badge has diamond studded wings (wings of Mercury by the way). This was first authorized in the 1970s.

There have been changes to the jewelling and design of the badge over the years. Delta Zeta’s Roman lamp badge was designed by a friend of founder Alfa Lloyd's, Arthur Bairnsfather. His design was based on specifications of Alfa and one of the earliest members or our sorority, Mayme Barger. Young Mr. Bairnsfather worked for Newman's Jeweler for a time and later became a well known mural artist. So for DZ you can forget the Tiffany's urban legends so many GLOs share. I would love to share a picture of Mr. Bairnsfather and the badge he designed, but I need to know how to load pictures here.

That first badge had a flush mounted diamond in the "flame" of the lamp and the lamp was set on an ionic column carried by the wings of Mercury. There were no pearls in the original badge (1902 - 1905). Because of this difference, the design at the base of the lamp where it rested on the ionic column was also different than it is today. Our four pearls were added to the badge after Delta Zeta came back in 1907. (A story I would like to share in October, before Founders’ Day, on the Delta Zeta thread of Greek Chat.) When the four pearls were added the jewelers used a crown set mounting in the original badge design just below the lamp and crowding the top of the ionic column. Within a few years the design was modified, redesigning the ionic column and adding a space above it for four flush mounted pearls. In her 1952 history, Grace Mason Lundy credits Burr, Patterson and Auld with this improvement to the design. A few years after this, a tiffany mounting for the diamond in the flame of the lamp was given as a design option for initiates.

In the 1920s and 1930s an alumna badge was authorized. This badge was most like the bling options members of other GLOs have in that an alumna was allowed to wear the badge with four diamonds at the base of the lamp ILO the four pearls. Just diamonds, no variety of stones. This design change was "retracted" before the sorority's golden anniversary. One reason given was to return the badge to a uniform meaning for all members, but it is likely that the expense of adding diamonds was just not widely embraced by alumnae. Again, in the 1970's, additional diamonds were added to the badge but only for the national president.

[ASTalumna06]

Alpha Sigma Tau:

Gold or crown pearl badges are worn by initiated sisters.

A ruby (at the four points) badge is worn by sisters who serve as nationally-recognized volunteers.

A yellow topaz (at the four points) badge is worn by NPC Delegation members.

An emerald (at the four points) badge is worn by National Council members and National Officers.

A (double-bordered) diamond badge is worn by the National President and Past National Presidents.

http://alphasigmatau.org/about/symbols/

[clemsongirl]

Originally Posted by BetaIotaDZ

First - The ADPi badge pictured earlier on 8/13/18 is AMAZING. Clemsongirl what did site did you use to put the picture on so you could share it on Greek Chat?

It was my facebook cover photo for Badge Day last year so I just copied the direct link to it from there. Otherwise I would have used Imgur, which does free photo hosting and doesn't require an account or subscription like Photobucket.

[Sciencewoman]

Gamma Phi Beta has many options available, but only in sterling silver and solid gold (white or yellow -- the white isn't advertised, but you can special order it). There are plain badges, chased/engraved letters, silver and gold combo badges, and many different jewel options, including pearls on all letters or pearls on just the Phi, and I've also found that if you'd like something special, you just have to ask they'll get a price from Herff-Jones. International council badges have a white crescent, and I think they're a bit larger. The IC badges have pearls, while the International President's has diamonds.

[SWTXBelle]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

Gamma Phi Beta has many options available, but only in sterling silver and solid gold (white or yellow -- the white isn't advertised, but you can special order it). There are plain badges, chased/engraved letters, silver and gold combo badges, and many different jewel options, including pearls on all letters or pearls on just the Phi, and I've also found that if you'd like something special, you just have to ask they'll get a price from Herff-Jones. International council badges have a white crescent, and I think they're a bit larger. The IC badges have pearls, while the International President's has diamonds.

It's my understanding that with the change in our governance to a board, there will no longer be distinctive IC badges.