History of Lapel Pins

A badge, in simple terms, is a symbol used to indicate identity and occupation. It is a witness to historical events and a mark of an era. Today, while the authority of badges is still applied to various government departments and corporate associations, the trend of some decorative badges is gradually emerging.

The origin of badges is very old, even older than the country. No one is completely sure where the first badge came from, or why it was made, but we do know the development of this art craft. It is said that it originated from the totem symbols of primitive clan tribes.

A lapel pin, a story; a lapel pin, a history

Lapel pins are used on coins:

Badges evolved from totems can be seen everywhere in the world. For example, the earliest countries in the world, Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt, used vultures and cobras as totems. In the remains of these two civilizations, you can also find many artifacts and paintings with these two symbols. The Egyptians did not really make badges, but they did start the process of inlaying and enamelling to give badges a unique appearance.

The totem of the Phoenicians, a famous commercial nation in the ancient Mediterranean, was the ox. The ox pattern appeared not only in the Phoenicians' utensils and paintings, but also on the coins they minted. The habit of using the founder's emblem on the coins has arisen and has been passed down to this day. Use animals, duties, and symbols to mark the country, such as the "maple leaf" on Canadian coins and the "chrysanthemum" on Japanese coins.

The first "national emblem" in Chinese history was the "dragon" emblem of the Qing Dynasty, which was both the emblem of the Qing royal family and the national symbol of the Qing Dynasty.

Even more special is the EU coin. The euro represents both the whole of Europe and different countries. So from the badge point of view, the euro is a real "two-faced faction": the front of the coin uses a unified EU badge design, and the back of the coin uses badges and logos designed by each country.

The army began to use custom lapel pins:

In the West, it is generally believed that this badge used for identification clearly originated from the legions of the Roman era. At that time, the Roman Empire established a large-scale army that was completely supplied by the state. In order to allow them to identify enemies and allies on the battlefield, each legion had its own badge. Entering the Middle Ages, nobles and knights of all levels designed complex emblems on their shields to indicate their identities. The composition of such emblems generally has a specific scheme, including symbols, special honors and history of the emblem owner, mascots, auspicious colors and mottos. There are also some ancient city and school emblems with very complex structures. For example, at the historic Oxford University, the school emblem is not only designed in British style, but also has profound meanings.

Lapel pins have become a national culture:

In modern times, emblems first became a symbol of the country, such as: the national emblem of the British royal family; the seal of the President of the United States; after the nationalization of the army, the emblem quickly became a symbol of the army. In some European and American countries, different armies have different emblems. For example: the US Air Force emblem, the US Army emblem, the US Marine Corps emblem, the US Navy emblem, the British Army Infantry Regiment emblem, etc.

Today's lapel pin manufacturing process

Enamel pins have quickly become fashionable, and the commercialization of lapel pins has become very common. The silk lapel pins we are familiar with are a good example.

These small metal pins are highly customizable and can be designed in any way, using a combination of traditional and modern technologies. These include:

Hard enamel pins

Soft enamel pins

Antique pins