golden rays between the branches of the star. The centre shows the obverse of a commander's cross. The plaque for Grand Officer is a faceted five-armed 'Maltese Asterisk' (see Maltese Cross), with golden rays between the arms. The centre shows the obverse of an officer's cross. The medal shows the shape of the Order badge imprinted in a metal shape that is vaguely octagonal and looks like a closed florian cross. The metal of the Medal is gold for the gold medal, Silver for the silver medal and Bronze for the bronze medal. The ribbon of the Order is blue with a central black stripe. However, if the Order is awarded in special circumstances, the ribbon of the Officer and Knight classes show the following variations: Crossed swords are added to the ribbon when awarded in wartime (if the Order was awarded during the Second World War or during the Korean War, a small bar is added to the ribbon mentioning the name of the war); The ribbon has a vertical gold border on both sides when awarded for a special act of valour; The ribbon has a central vertical gold stripe in the middle of the black stripe when awarded for an exceptionally meritorious act; A gold star is added to the ribbon when the recipient has been mentioned in despatches at the national level; Silver or gold palms are added to the ribbon when awarded in wartime to military personnel. Stars and borders or stripes can be awarded together, but these deviations are currently only rarely awarded. Originally, the central stripe of the ribbon was white, as blue and white were the colours of the Congo Free State. The ribbon bar of the order, which is worn on the semi-formal dress uniform is: Despite the fact that, contrary to the Order of Leopold, no maritime or military divisions of the Order of Leopold II exist, some unofficial decorations with crossed anchors or crossed swords under the suspension crown are known to exist. Award conditions Current award conditions of Belgian national orders National Orders are awarded by Royal Decree at fixed dates: 8 April (Birthday of King Albert I), 15 November (King's Feast), and in some cases on 21 July (Belgian national holiday)) to reward meritorious services to the Kingdom of Belgium based on the career path and age of the recipient. A number of different regulations rule the