National Order of Merit (Brazil)

The insignia of the Order consists of a gold star with six beams, enamelled in white enameled with a wreath of roses, with the center of the obverse the armillary sphere, also of gold, in a blue field, and, on the reverse, the caption: "National Order of Merit".

The necklace consists of two chains alternately ornamented with armillary and pink spheres, allegorical elements of the decoration, and from it hangs the insignia. The Grand Cross consists of the insignia pendant of a strip of scarlet color with two white lists, passed by the shoulder strap, from right to left, plus a gold plaque with the same insignia and placed to the left of the chest. The insignia of the Grand Officer and Commander hang from a ribbon around the neck, and the insignia of the Grand Officer is accompanied by a silver plaque. The insignia of Officers and Knights are pending of a ribbon tied to the left side of the chest, being that the insignia of Officers has a rosette placed on the tape.

The design was inspired by the Imperial Order of the Rose, created by Jean-Baptiste Debret in 1829 at the request of Emperor D. Pedro I to celebrate his marriage with D. Amélie of Leuchtenberg. The monogram of the emperors was replaced by the armillary sphere and the color of the ribbon (rose) changed to scarlet.