class rings...jostens vs. art carved

[Rock'n Robin]

Well we got a letter about class rings and suddenly DD#1 wants one (she is in 9th grade now). I tell her that few kids at my school wear them but she still wants one.
Of course Jostens is the preferred dealer that gets to have a parent meeting at school and talk about it and they are the only ones with the "fighting yellow jacket" mascot available. DD would like a cheerleading side on it though, and the cheer sides we saw online were yucky. I also don't want to pay Jostens more than I have to...they also get money for the high school and junior high yearbooks, and eventually for senior graduation stuff. They have a real monopoly and I feel they are overpriced.
I remember buying my ring at a jewelry store and paying less than the kids who bought them at school. I know artcarved has a class ring available. Does anyone have experience with them? They only give us one week to choose a ring if we buy at school, and I'd like to go to the parent meeting (the ONLY way to get the materials, BTW) armed with my own info.
Robin M.

 

[Blondie]

We ordered my son's online through the Josten's website. All the info I needed was right there. I was amazed at how fancy (or not) school rings have become. The large selection of gemstones, diamonds, yellow gold, white gold, etc. blew me away!

Heck, when I got my school ring back in the dark ages I don't remember having so many choices.

Sorry, I guess my answer isn't much help!

 

[mandy200587]

Honestly Jostens is worth the money for the class ring. I have a nontraditional class ring for mine and I still wear it after I graduated hs. Go online and try building it. keep in mind if something ever happens with your jostens you can always get it back.

 

[Southern4sure]

We ordered from Jostens this year online though. They have a large selection to choose from and prices were comparable to other vendors unless you went for the bling bling factor. I told my son if he really wanted the diamond encrusted ring, he would pay half of the cost. He backed down quickly.... My son is very happy with his ring and so am I.

 

[two-plus-twins]

My daughter's high school softball team ordered State Championship rings from Jostens. They are really awesome and I didn't think they were too expensive for what they got.

I think I might not have to buy her a class ring now because she said it is very similar to what she would have wanted on her class ring. DH says if her team wins the State Championship again next year he will buy her another softball ring (probably in his size since he is more proud of it than she is!).

 

[nsyncraider17]

I got mine at a local jewelry store, and it was definitely cheaper than whatever company the school used... I think ours was Balfour and not Jostens. I think it was a little bit cheaper that way, plus I got to try on different ones and have personal attention, which you don't get if you order from a catalog.

 

[mking624]

I got mine through Jostens because my H.S. had a contract with them and they had a specially designed one for my school...it's not your typical class ring. That said, I would never deal with them again. They really trried to screw my family over and kept at it for a few years, even after I had already graduated high school. We knew others in the same position. While I love my class ring because of how unique it was, it wasn't a company we were happy to deal with.

 

[EthansMom]

Check Walmart and Target. You can order class rings through both of them for pretty reasonable prices. You can look at Walmart's options online... price out the ring and everything, which will give you some comparison.

I asked my parents to buy me a class ring when I was in 9th grade. Not many of the 9th graders had one (me and one other guy that I know of), but I wore it for 3.5 years until I went to college, so at least it got some use.

 

[antmaril]

My suggestion -- walmart.com

Saved us lots of $$ and the ring was perfect.