Class ring
Encyclopedia : C : CL : CLA : Class ring
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. These rings are most common in the United States.
Contents
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 sex 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). Josten's, Balfour, Herff-Jones, and ArtCarved are four major companies that sell class rings to students. There are also small manufacturers that produce class rings.Personalizations
Size
- Woman's rings (approximately the width of an engagement ring) in the middle
Color
- Gold is the traditional color
- *A satin finish shows the entire ring in gold
- *An antique finish uses a black enamel to highlight the details of the ring
- White gold is also available, and is usually preferred by women
- Silver rings are available from some schools and companies
- Sometimes, rings are offered in non-precious metal alloys
Top
- Most rings will have the name of the school engraved in a circular pattern around the stone (this is simpler for the traditionally larger men's ring)
- 10 karat gold
- 14 karat gold
- 18 karat gold
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
Shape
- Rectangle
- Oval
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
Sides
- The year of graduation is a necessity on at least one side of 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
Underside
- Many students have their name, initials, or nickname engraved on the underside of the ring, underneath the stone
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. When a student is in school, the insignia on the face of the ring faces in, towards the student. After graduation, the ring is turned around so that the insignia faces out.
Especially in high school, a boyfriend and girlfriend may exchange class rings. The boy usually wears the smaller girl's ring on his pinky finger, while the girl wears his ring on a chain around her neck.
Trivia
- The tradition of class rings started with the class of 1835 at West Point.
- 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.
- 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.
External links
The following companies are ring makers in the United States and Canada for class rings:- [National Achiever Services]
- [ArtCarved]
- [Balfour]
- [Bogart Enterprizes]
- [Herff Jones]
- [Intergold]
- [Josten's]
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.