Collar Jewel, c. 1890

This jewel, presented as a gift by author and Pennsylvanian historian Julius Frederick Sachse (1842-1919) to Thomas J. Shryock (1851-1918), is a copy of a jewel in the collection of the United Grand Lodge of England. The origin of the original jewel, made of silver, is somewhat in doubt. While claimed for a little known Order, ‘The Sols,’ it may possibly be derived from the Royal Order of Scotland. Taking the form of Compasses above, and a sector of 180 degrees below to form its outer frame overlaid by a cross engraved with the motto “Dues nobis Sol et Scutum,” while in the center is the Sun in its splendor with sixteen pointed rays of Light alternating straight and wavy.