Iron Ring - Material and Design

Material and Design

The Iron Ring is made from either wrought iron or stainless steel. The first ceremony awarding the ring was held in 1925, under the supervision of Herbert E. T. Haultain, professor of mining engineering at the University of Toronto.

The rings are given in ceremonies held at individual universities, each assigned one of 26 camps of the Corporation of the Seven Wardens. Today, ceremonies at all camps across Canada, except the Toronto camp, have completely stopped conferring rings made of iron and have switched to stainless steel rings. Iron, however, is not the most suitable material for such a purpose; it turns the finger black and it reacts with the body's own chemistry and begins to deteriorate, making the ring fit more loosely. At the Toronto camp, the individual ceremonies held at the University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, Ryerson University, York University and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, continue to provide recipients with a choice of rings made of wrought iron or stainless steel.

Many believe, incorrectly, that the rings are made from the steel of a beam from the first Quebec Bridge, which collapsed during construction in 1907. Seventy-five construction workers died in the collapse which was attributed to poor planning and design by the overseeing engineers. This misunderstanding may have its roots in a common practice of attaching a symbol of an engineering failure, such as a bolt from that bridge, to the chain that is held by participants in the ritual. Rudyard Kipling, who wrote the ritual obligation, indicated that the Ring as an allegory in itself be rough, not smoothed, and hammered, and as a ring have no beginning nor end. There is no evidence that there is any particular history in the source of "Cold Iron" (from the Calling of the Engineer ceremony) for the Ring, nor any intention that there should have been. Remnants of the Quebec Bridge legend still exist in Canada.

The Iron Ring is worn on the little finger ("pinky") of the working (dominant) hand. There, the facets act as a sharp reminder of one's obligation while the engineer works, because it could drag on the writing surface while the engineer is drawing or writing. This is particularly true of recently obligated engineers, whose rings bear sharp, unworn, facets. Protocol dictates that the rings should be returned by retired engineers or by the families of deceased engineers. Some camps offer previously obligated or "experienced" rings, but they are now rare due to medical and practical complications.

The Ring itself is small and understated, designed as a constant reminder, rather than a piece of jewelry. The Rings were originally hammered manually with a rough outer surface. The modern machined ring design is unique, a reminder of the manual process. Twelve half-circle facets are carved into the top and bottom of the outer surface, with the two halves offset by one facet radius.