33RD DEGREE JEWEL INCLUDING CASE
VERMEIL
This Jewel is just slightly smaller than jewel #15.
It measures approximately 1 1/2 in square.
Possibly the most recognized (and certainly misunderstood) Masonic honor is the Thirty-Third Degree of the Scottish Rite. In the Southern Jurisdiction, one who has been a Knight Commander of the Court of Honour for at least 46 months is eligible to be elected by the Supreme Council to this Degree. About 1.5% of our members hold this Degree. The ring is a triple band of gold, either plain or with a triangular plate of gold enclosing the numerals 33. The jewel, suspended from a white ribbon, has very distinctive details.
Jim Tresner describes it as follows: "The basis of the jewel is a Teutonic Cross. On that is a nine-pointed star, composed of three gold triangles, interlaced. The design also forms nine small triangles, and in each of these is one of the letters ... 'S.A.P.I.E.N.T.I.A.,' the Latin word for wisdom. A sword extends from the lower part of the left side of the jewel to the upper part of the right side. Crossing that is ... a 'Hand of Justice.' This forms a scepter, terminating in a carving of a hand.... On top of the cross, triangles, crossed sword, and Hand of Justice is a circular plate, and on the plate is a shield with a crowned double-headed eagle. To the right of the eagle is a balance and to the left is a Square and Compasses. Around the design are the Latin words Ordo ab Chao, Order out of Chaos, enclosed by two serpents, each biting its tail."

The Teutonic Cross continues to remind us of the German origins of the Grand Constitutions of 1786. The double-headed eagle looking to the East and West may be from the coat of arms of Germany or from a French ancestor organization of the Scottish Rite, the Emperors of the East and West. Its crown signifies that the Thirty-third Degree is the administrative Degree of the Rite, and this symbolism of proper administration is continued with the sword of strength, the hand of justice, and the scales in balance. The three three-sided figures remind us of 33, the number of this Degree, while Sapientia indicates the symbolic achievement required for this recognition. The snakes biting their tails are ancient symbols of eternity and completion, and can allude to the scriptural admonition, "Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves"