Silk ribbons tie together generations of PhDs
Photo: Johan Ahlenius.
At the Doctoral Degree Conferment Ceremony, new PhDs (or doctors) are given special marks of distinction – their doctoral insignia. One of these is their diploma, aside from the hat or the laurel wreath.
Uppsala University has its own supplier of silk ribbons for the diplomas awarded at the Conferment Ceremony. Silk ribbons from the K. A. Almgren Silk Mill & Museum in Stockholm have adorned these ceremonial documents since the 1950s.
Photo: Gabriella Almqvist.
Interior of the silk mill. Photo: K. A. Almgren Silk Mill & Museum.
The different styles of silk ribbons varies with the faculty to which the new doctors belong.
And for many years now, rayon or artificial silk has been used to make these ribbons. Silk is a very durable material that lasts for generations, but ceremonial ribbons are rarely subject to heavy wear and tear.
The silk mill closed down in 1974, and with it, its production of ribbon, but the company was revived in the early 1990s. There is no longer any production at the K. A. Almgren Silk Mill & Museum, however; instead, the ribbon is purchased wholesale from producers in Europe.
The mill also supplies other universities and is a supplier of ribbons used for many different orders.
230 diplomas
As for the amount of ribbon required, this varies greatly between different conferment ceremonies and the number of diplomas that need to be produced.
Each diploma requires around half a metre of ribbon, and 230 diplomas will be produced for the 2025 Spring Conferment Ceremony.
The ribbons are being tied around the diplomas in the couple of weeks prior to the Doctoral Degree Conferment Ceremony on 23 May. The procedure also includes stamping the specific seal of the faculties in red lacquer in a wooden box that is mounted together with the silk ribbons on the diplomas.
The red lacquer is melted down, cooled in a water bath and then kneaded by hand to the right size.
The laquer is placed in a wooden box mounted together with the ribbons on the diploma and stamped with the faculty seal.
The seal of the Faculty of Medicine embossed in the red lacquer of the wooden box.
The faculties have different stamps. The picture shows the stamp of the Faculty of Medicine.
The lid of the wooden box is temporarily taped to protect the paint and allow it to set.
The finished diplomas are waiting to be rolled and tied with a silk ribbon.
The finished diploma is tied with silk ribbon.
Text and photo (unless otherwise specified): Johan Ahlenius
The doctoral insignia
In addition to the diploma, the doctoral insignia include a hat or a laurel wreath, depending on the faculty from which the person has graduated, as well as a doctoral ring.
Unlike the other insignia, rings are not awarded during the ceremony, but each newly appointed doctor is entitled to acquire such a ring.
The doctoral insignia awarded at the ceremony: Diploma, laurel wreath and hat. Photo: David Naylor, Mikael Wallerstedt.