Button for Chef’s units, made of white fitting metal and silver-plated. Expertly crafted by stamping from bronze, ideal for the restoration of uniforms or historical reenactments.
The buttons featuring the Imperial crown, introduced on March 3, 1862, were initially assigned only to seven regiments whose Chef was the Emperor or Empress:
1.1st Leib-Dragoon Moscow His Majesty’s Regiment
2.2nd Leib-Dragoon Pskov Her Majesty’s Regiment
3.2nd Leib-Uhlan Courland His Majesty’s Regiment
4.2nd Leib-Hussar Pavlograd His Majesty’s Regiment
5.1st Leib-Grenadier Ekaterinoslav His Majesty’s Regiment
6.13th Leib-Grenadier Erivan His Majesty’s Regiment
7.68th Leib-Infantry Borodino His Majesty’s Regiment
Yellow brass buttons were also designated for the staff bugler of the 1st Grenadier Division, while tin buttons with a crown were assigned to the staff bugler of the Caucasian Grenadier Division.
On February 26, 1869, the use of buttons with the Imperial crown was expanded to include regiments whose Chef was the Tsesarevich or the Tsesarevna. As of that date, these included:
•12th Grenadier Astrakhan Tsesarevich’s Regiment
•3rd Uhlan Smolensk Tsesarevich’s Regiment
•11th Uhlan Chuguyev Tsesarevna Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna’s Regiment
•19th Dragoon Pereyaslav Tsesarevich’s Regiment
From 1856 to 1865, the Tsesarevich (future Emperor Alexander III) was also the Chef of the 17th Dragoon Seversky Regiment. However, on May 29, 1865, he relinquished this position, so this regiment did not receive buttons with the crown. The 9th Viborg Settled Finnish Rifle Battalion, also under the Tsesarevich’s patronage, was disbanded in 1867 along with other Finnish units.
On May 26, 1869, the Tsesarevich was appointed Chef of the 145th Infantry Novocherkassk Regiment, and on February 26, 1876, he became the second Chef of His Majesty’s Regiments, as well as of the Pavlograd, Pavlovsk, and Alexandrovsk Military Academies.
On February 28, 1879, buttons with the crown were issued to the 80th Kabardian Infantry Regiment. On September 20, 1879, they were granted to the 16th Rifle Battalion (later a regiment), and on May 25, 1891, to the 1st East Siberian Rifle Battalion.
In October 1894, Nicholas II ordered the uniforms of regiments and military schools named after His Majesty or under the patronage of the late Emperor Alexander III to remain unchanged. On October 30, 1894, buttons with the crown were assigned to the 93rd Irkutsk Infantry Regiment.
Later, buttons with the crown were also designated for:
•2nd Grenadier Rostov Regiment
•51st Lithuanian Infantry Regiment
•12th East Siberian Rifle Regiment
•15th Dragoon Alexandrian Regiment
The last three regiments likely did not receive the buttons, as on August 29, 1894, a new model of buttons was introduced for all military units.
On July 6, 1903, buttons with the crown were granted to the 9th Infantry Ingermanland Regiment in honor of its 200th anniversary.
