Star of Said Ali

The first jewel was a typical Arab piece of silver embellished with a number of diamonds and words in Arabic. The ribbon was woven of dark red silk and embroidered with golden stars. Said Ali established the Order to recognize meritorious service by civilian or military personnel.

As the prince and his subjects were Muslims a star was chosen as a design and not a cross.

The later design was awarded in four classes,

• Grand Cross
• Commander
• Officer
• Knight

Its second design is based on a double-sided five-pointed star of dark green enamel with gold ball finials at the end of each point. Diamonds were no longer used. The star is layered over rays of gold between each arm. A raised Arabic inscription is encircled in the center of the star. This is suspended from a large golden crescent with small green enamel star(s) on it (three on the Commander grade and one on the Knight grade). The original metal design of this Order varies considerably from the later enameled version. The Order of the Star of Anjouan was related to this order.