I graduated in ‘94, and as I recall, gold wasn’t the only option. I wanted one, but I wasn’t going to spend my money on one and neither were my parents. Less than two year later I as happy I didn’t buy one having realized I’d never wear the damn thing. I’m not even sure where my diploma is.
The rings weigh around 20 grams. At 10k, that’s around 8 grams of gold. This is pretty similar (except to the shape of the stone) to what I had. I don’t remember what size it was, but it was too loose to securely wear on my largest finger.
Most of us in our HS class of 1974 got them. None of my kids got one or even discussed it. I still have mine in my coin jug.
I graduated in 1981, and they had reps available for people who wished to purchase them, and I did have one friend who bought one. That’s all I remember; I didn’t get one, and my brother and sister didn’t either.
I do remember my mother asking if I wanted one, and I told her, “If I wore a lot of jewelry, I might consider it, but no.” Turns out my parents would have said I had to pay for it if I wanted one, knowing that most of them are worn only for a short time.
Lustrum is bright. It is beautiful. It rules. And it binds in the darkness.
Where did you get that ring? Jostens?
“It came to me, my own, my love… my… preciousssss.”
I don’t know anyone who bought a ring. I don’t see people wearing them with pride and do not think they are popular. But I think Jostens did our high school yearbooks.
My class ring is (I found it, and put it on a hook) is ‘argentum silver’. I now wish that I had opted for gold, but I was more attracted to silver. And I wish I had not gone for the shorter ring. Anyway, I have mine on a hook; it’s a little misshapen due to har wearing back in the day, and… well, there it is.
Our team was (is) the Rebels. My year was (I think) the last year depicting a Confederate soldier. Afterward, they changed to a cartoon Confederate.
Jostens has a site that allows you to design a ring. A 10k gold men’s ring approximately like mine that was bought for around $350-$400 in 1990 now costs $2,329.99. And that’s with an artificial stone.
My wife graduated in 1997. She says some random admin person at the school passed out a Jostens catalog to all the seniors sometime around Christmas and the catalog was filled with the usual graduation announcements, invite cards, diploma frames, commemorative tassels, and yes, class rings. My wife bought one and says many of her friends and classmates did as well. Apparently it was the cool thing to do.
My son graduated in 2023. It was essentially the same Jostens catalog with the same overpriced junk in it, including a class ring. He says nobody in his class bought one that he knows of (Caveat: he was in a graduating class of 8, so a small sample size.)
I did not attend or graduate high school so have no personal experience. I doubt I would have wanted one though.
I graduated in 88. I went to a small, poor rural school and would guess that no one bought one. I know it wasn’t high on my priority list.
Jostens held a captive audience meeting at my daughter’s high school this past fall. She’s a freshman, but they did a hard sell on these kids. My daughter was interested at first, I think just because it was “high school-y,” but by that evening, she said she wasn’t interested anymore. None of the rings appealed to her, and my wife and I did a hard sell on not spending that kind of money on something that she’ll rarely wear. We did promise to buy her a nice necklace and a school sweatshirt, both of which she will be much more likely wear. ETA: None of her friends at school are interested in one either.
I graduated in '93. I think I badgered my parents into buying me one of the silver ones in my sophomore year. I never wore it. Sorry mom and dad.
Class of 1987, Pacific Northwest.
They were available. I remember the brochures being circulated, and I remember a few people being excited and making a big deal about ordering them.
But the people who were ordering them were… of a sufficiently specific type that the majority of people didn’t want to have even the vague association with them of also owning a ring, so nobody else was interested in ordering one.
No idea about the current practice. I’m in Europe where the school culture is vastly different. My older daughter is in the middle of lycee and this has never come up.
I went to a rough high school in Los Angeles. The catalogs were available and there might have been a rep. Class of 82 with like 700 people per class. I’m sure some people bought them but it seemed like a relic of the 50s to me plus everyone I know was going off to college so why get a high school ring?
The had a rep with a table at my university but I doubt many people were interested.
The question is : were they ever popular (or existed outside of the U.S).?
My public HS was in a fancy-pants section of SoCal. Many many students got class rings although substantially everyone was going on to college. I did, my quasi GF of the time did, etc. Many kids wore them, but more girls than boys. I don’t recall whether mine was gold or gold-like, but I bet it was low-karat (10K?) gold and my vague recollection is it cost $200ish.
I got a gold class ring for college which I still wear every day. It’s been resized up and down and up and down a couple cycles.
In the military, many officers attended their service’s academy. Rings there were definitely a big thing then, much more so than in civilian life. As in everybody got one. They probably still are, but that’s guesswork, not certain knowledge.
When I was in, many USAF officers saw my ring and were puzzled; rings are for Academy guys, but USAF’s are silver w a blue stone and mine was gold w a dark red stone. Had I attended West Point (US Army’s academy)? Nope.
In the airline world, there are also a lot of academy guys. A few of whom wear academy rings. Darn near nobody else does. I’m one of the very few.
Out in my non-work life I probably see 2 class rings on guys per year, and that’s been true for decades. People remark on mine. Nowadays people over about 40 know what it is, but say something like “Wow, I haven’t seen a school ring in forever.” Younger folks are more like “What is that ring?”
My twins will graduate from high school in May. Pretty much everyone in their class gave into the tradition and bought class rings in their junior year. I’m sure there were a few that didn’t, but they would definitely be the exception. With us having to buy two, I definitely pushed them toward the least expensive options, but didn’t want them to be left out. I think they’ve actually worn them twice.
I’m also about to purchase our fourth state high school marching band championship ring from the same company for twin 1 from which I’ve also purchased his letter jacket.
The company around here that goes into the schools to sell this stuff is called Balfour and the social pressure to buy it and not be the kid left out is pretty intense even though I know full well they won’t even look at it after high school because it will probably end up in a box somewhere like all of my high school memorabilia is.
I graduated from HS in 1979, and class rings were fairly popular at my HS. Of course, Jostens was headquartered in my hometown, so there were close ties between the HS and the company. Nobody in my family got a class ring though.
It might not be a matter of you being observant. I was class of 1981 and the only reason I know that some people other than myself) had rings is because it wasn’t uncommon to see girls wearing their boyfriend’s ring on a chain around their neck, which is way more noticeable than seeing a ring on a finger. My school didn’t have any sort of a ceremony like I heard some schools did.
I did, from 1986 until a couple of years ago. But it didn’t really look like a class ring , in part because of the design and in part because of size .It looked similar to this
That looks exactly like every woman’s class ring I’ve ever seen. Whether as advertised on or seen in the wild on a finger.
I was in high school in the late 60’s. I remember looking at the Josten catalog, but my mom approached me and said she had my father’s service ring (US Army Air Force, Bombardier() and she would have it resized for me if I wanted it instead of a high school ring.
I still wear it. I get puzzled looks when people notice it and ask what it is (I’m old, but not old enough to have served in WWII).
I’m not going to say it doesn’t - but there are women’s class rings that look just like the men’ s. Perhaps a tiny bit smaller but the same shape for the ring and the stone as the men’s , but you can recognize those as class rings from a much greater distance. Lots of people didn’t realize mine was a class ring until they asked. A few not-too-bright people though it was an engagement ring.