Class ring
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A class ring (also known as a graduate, or grad, ring) is a ring worn by students and alumni to commemorate their graduation, generally for a high school, college, or university.
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[edit] Significance
Today these rings are often personalized by each student, although in years past they were uniform to the school's standard, and only the year would change. A typical class ring depends upon the gender of the person wearing the ring; men's rings are larger than women's. The color is usually gold; however, even that can differ from school to school, and students can order their ring in white gold, silver, or various non-precious metal alloys. The center stone is traditionally one of the school's colors, but the size and cut can be individually customized to the student's desire (as well as the size of the ring). Jostens, Balfour, Herff Jones, and ArtCarved are four major companies that sell class rings to students.
[edit] Personalizations
[edit] Color
- White gold or gold are the traditional metals
- Many rings are available in two-tone (white and yellow Gold)
- Silver rings are available from some schools and companies
- Higher-end rings are sometimes offered in platinum
- Sometimes, rings are offered in non-precious metal alloys
[edit] Top
- Most rings will have the name of the school engraved in a circular pattern around the stone (this is simpler for the usually larger men's ring).
[edit] Karats
- 10 karat gold
- 14 karat gold
- 18 karat gold
[edit] Color
- As stated above, the traditional color for the ring is the school's primary color
- Many people also opt for the color of their birthstone
[edit] Shape
- Rectangle
- Oval
[edit] Cut
- Many times the ring will have cuts inside the stone to give off an extra shine or sparkle; these can vary by company and personal desire
[edit] Sides
- The year of graduation is generally engraved somewhere on the ring
- Usually the school's logo, insignia, or motto will be on one side of the ring
- Often a student's academic or social organizations will be on the opposite side of the ring
- Fraternities and sororities
- Honor societies
- Sports teams
- Extracurricular activities
- Clubs/civic organizations
[edit] Underside
- Many students have their name, initials, or nickname engraved on the underside of the ring, underneath the stone
[edit] Cost
- $100-800
[edit] How to wear
The class ring is usually worn on the ring finger of the right hand, as the ring finger of the left hand is reserved for a wedding band in many cultures (however, more than a few persons wear their class ring on the same finger as the wedding ring with the wedding ring slightly beveled in order for both rings to properly fit together, this is the traditional manner of wearing a class ring from a US service academy). The ring ought always to be worn so that the insignia faces the wearer when his or her arm is outstretched (Vanderbilt, Complete Book of Etiquette p. 156).
Especially in high school, a boyfriend and girlfriend may exchange class rings. The boy usually wears the girl's class ring on his pinky finger, while the girl wears the boy's class ring around her neck on a golden chain.[citation needed]
[edit] Trivia
- The tradition of class rings started with the class of 1835 at West Point.
- The X-Ring, which is synonymous with Canada's St. Francis Xavier University (StFX) in Nova Scotia, is awarded to the graduating class at StFX. The tradition of the ring dates back to 1942. The first X-Ring Ceremony was held in October 1958.
- Neil Armstrong's Purdue University Class of 1955 ring, which he took with him to the moon, is on display on Purdue's campus today.
- Herff Jones usually conducts a ring ceremony at high schools in which the students spin the ring the amount of years the tradition has started minus one to the left and on the last turn to the right.[citation needed]
- The MIT class ring, known as the Brass Rat, traditionally has no stone.
- One especially unusual ring is that of Regent University, which not only has no stone, but has the emblem reversed. See this page for pictures and an explanation of why the rings are so designed. Strictly speaking, this is not a class ring; its design is standard for all graduates of the school (men's and women's versions are available), and it has no engraving on the side. Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, also hands out class rings with no stone and a reversed image of the school crest. Regent founder Pat Robertson is a W&L graduate, which may have inspired him to use such a ring for his school.
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
The following companies are ring makers in the United States and Canada for class rings:
