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I borrowed Knights of the Crown and have been browsing through it. Interesting models for re-creation include:

Elaborate collars for members of various orders, often given at induction to an order
Orders with "official" and "unofficial" names, such as the Society of Our Lady, popularly known as the Order of the Swan. (The unoffical design comes from a badge or collar design.)
The Golden Rose, which isn't an order at all, but a genuine gold rose given by the Pope to deserving persons or institutions. (Scroll down here for a probably-modern image of the rose.)
A basic badge, augmented for various heroic acts. (The rules for the Order of the Ship are remarkably complex: "To supply his ship [badge] with an anchor, a companion had to take part in the siege of a fortified place, of at least 500 hearths if Christian or at least 1000 hearths if Saracen, and be among the first besiegers to enter the place when it was taken. If he was among the first three to enter, he could add an anchor of gold; if among the next three, or if he thereafter performed noteworthy deeds on the captured walls, the anchor was to be of iron. The anchor was to be placed above the water of the badge if the place was Christian, and in the water if it was Saracen." And ships could also have tillers, ropes, sails, and banners!)

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