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We are accustomed to seeing every officer in the Lodge wearing a collar, so perhaps it has never occurred to most of us to ask the reason why, or to ascertain the origin of the collar.
The world's first Grand Lodge was formed in London in 1717. Just ten years later Grand Lodge ordered that the Master and Wardens of all Lodges should wear the jewels of Masonry hanging from a white ribbon. This may be taken as the first regulation relating to what afterwards became the Master's, Wardens' and Officers' collars.
The word "ribbon" seems to have been interpreted rather loosely. Illustrations of brethren of that period wearing Masonic clothing generally show the ribbon as being quite narrow - sometimes being no more than a silken cord. Apart from differences in colour - Masters' and Wardens' ribbons were white, those of Grand Officers blue, and those of Grand Stewards red - the ribbons appear to have been just a means of hanging the respective jewels.
However, collars of various sorts had long been worn by knights, members of royal families, high dignitaries, members of noble orders and so on. It was probably inevitable that in due course, the ribbons prescribed by Grand Lodge would become more elaborate, finally becoming collars. The first hint of this occurring is to be found in a French publication "Le Secret des Francs-Macons" (The Secret of the Freemasons) which appeared in 1742. The relevant passage reads: "On Initiation days, the Worshipful (Master), the two Wardens, the Secretary and the Treasurer of the Order wear a blue ribbon round their necks, cut in the shape of a triangle . . . . At the base of the Master's ribbon there hang a square and Compasses. The Wardens and other Officers wear only the Compasses."
Harry Carr believes that the phrase "cut in the shape of a triangle" confirms that this was a collar, tailored approximately to the shape used today. Later illustrations show collars very similar to those used today, but there was no rule on this matter until 1815, when Masonic clothing in England was standardised and made uniform.
From Harry Carr's book "The Freemason at Work.'
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