The necklace is a symbol of high office and dignity, as well as responsibility assumed with the high post. It was introduced to the university symbolics via the church, and became a compulsory attribute of Rector's dignity.

On 17 October 1934 the Academic Council decided to introduce the Rector's Necklace as an "insignia of dignity, with which the First of the University is vested". The decision of establishing the Rector's Necklace is an evidence for the spirits and potentialities of Sofia University to match the achievements of the old European universities.

The artist of the necklace is Haralambi Tatchev, renown also for the design of the city of Sofia coat of arms. St. Kliment Ohridski's stylized image on the necklace was crafted by Prof. Atanas Dudulov, Nacioanal Academy of Fine Arts, who specialized at Academy of Fine Arts Prague (1921–1923).

The design of the necklace is a representation of the stylized image of the University, with its seven faculties: Faculty of History and Philology, Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and Faculty of Theology, gathered by the burning torch ensign, the symbol of knowledge, and the round plates with the Sofia University initials in Cyrillic and Latin in an elaborate interlaced design. The necklace also features the year of its design 1934, a plate with an erected lion on scarlet field (the most important heraldic item of the state coat of arms), and the University coat of arms with the image of the University's patron saint.

The Rector's Necklace is the oldest academic insignia of Sofia University adopted from the European traditions, which has preserved its authentic form through the ages.