High School Class Rings on a Budget??

[azdizzymom]

My son came home with the info on class rings. What a sticker shock! I know you can order them at local jewelry stores and online. Does anyone have any recommendations online ...good and bad experiences. The price difference (just called and asked about basic boys with school/sport on it) at local store was $100 cheaper.

Thanks for any insight...this is new. And yes I made sure this was with free resizing!

 

[HunnyPots]

Both my kids got theirs through WalMart jewelry. My daughter's was $104 and my son's was $130. The got almost the exact same ring as through the school's company and saved well over $100 each! Same warranty, everything.
I'm especially glad we went this route, since three months after graduation, my son's ring sits in a drawer!

 

[horseshowmom]

My daughter's also came from Wal-Mart. Like the previous poster, she quit wearing it once she started college (just like I did many year ago). Personally, I'm opposed to spending big bucks on a high school ring. I know there are a few people who keep wearing them, but very few do.

 

[metime]

I never got a class ring because aside from the time the other kids get theirs it is useless. Just remember you are paying for your child experience of keeping up with the Jones'. It all depends on if that is worth it to you. My children will buy thier own if they want one. I would rahter go out and spend a significant amount on a real piece of jewlery to commemorate. I got a ring wiht my birthstone instead from my paretns which I still have and wear.

 

[annagirl]

Try to see if they would do without. I mean, when was the last time you even saw your class ring, let alone wore it. In this economy, $150 is a lot to put on something that doesn't have lasting power.

Consider a good watch instead. Usefull for as long as it works.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

My DS's came from Herf Jones (back in 2003). He went all out & it ran us nearly $600. It was 14K. He was on the baseball team so he had that on the sides with his number and everything. A year after owning it, it tarnished.. solid 14K isn't suppose to do that. Herf Jones replaced it, but again, a year later it tarnished. This time they refunded us our money. I can understand if he was wearing it and maybe it didn't sit well with his body chemistry, but he kept it in the little velvet sack they gave it to him in The best thing that happend was getting a refund. My DD opted not to get one, she prefered us keeping the money toward a car or something "better" as she put it.. like a real ring that she would wear all the time, not just while still in High School. My youngest DD, now a HS Senior didn't want one either, she prefers us just buying her clothes paying for her car insurance and gas since she cannot find a part time job.. she is very realistic and down to earth.. so that is the deal... until she gets a job & with this economy, she may be the one who comes out ahead..it may be years before she gets a part time job... She actually has an interview tomorrow at a Vet's office.. keep your fingers crossed....

 

[azdizzymom]

Thanks for the insights everyone! I actually still have mine and showed it to my kids last night. I do remember wearing mine thru high school but now it sits in my jewelry box.

I will look at Walmart and see how they price. I have no problem buying one if he is going to wear it during the next 4 years of school. We are not going to go all out and buy the most expensive one to have the fanciest one. I need to have him show what he wants and see how much it costs. I didn't realize that Walmart sold them.

The watch was a good idea...he has a nice one that sits in his drawer so that is why we are going to make sure the ring would be worn.

Thanks again everyone...appreciate the time you took and thoughts on this.

 

[Mom B]

I never had a class ring...didn't have the money and didn't expect my parents to pay for it, and it really wasn't something I greatly desired to have. DH, bought his class ring with his own earnings, lost it in a river canoeing or tubing, before I met him, so I never even got to see it, much less wear it, more's the pity! Our kids pretty much chose whether they wanted or could afford one, but I believe we agreed to pay half. Of the ones that did get one, I believe we ordered them from Walmart. Where are they today? I don't have a clue! Now MY parents each had theirs, and they were a nice novelty to look at once in a while, and will probably be a keepsake for one of the grandkids some day if they're still around. These days, as a PP said, there are more important things to spend money on. And they can always be ordered later on down the road if someone feels they really missed out!

 

[aestapa]

My parents refused to buy me a class ring, but instead purchased a really pretty blue topaz ring at a local jewelry store. Her arguement was that I would never wear it after graduation. She was so right!! To this day, 15 years later, I still wear my topaz ring. I had stones added to it for college graduation.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I got a choice between a class ring or a nice everyday ring so I chose a gold opal ring.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

My parents refused to buy me a class ring, but instead purchased a really pretty blue topaz ring at a local jewelry store. Her arguement was that I would never wear it after graduation. She was so right!! To this day, 15 years later, I still wear my topaz ring. I had stones added to it for college graduation.

Now that was a good idea.. getting stones added for college graduation.. that makes your ring even more special..

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Thanks for the insights everyone! I actually still have mine and showed it to my kids last night. I do remember wearing mine thru high school but now it sits in my jewelry box.

I will look at Walmart and see how they price. I have no problem buying one if he is going to wear it during the next 4 years of school. We are not going to go all out and buy the most expensive one to have the fanciest one. I need to have him show what he wants and see how much it costs. I didn't realize that Walmart sold them.

The watch was a good idea...he has a nice one that sits in his drawer so that is why we are going to make sure the ring would be worn.

Thanks again everyone...appreciate the time you took and thoughts on this.

Like I said, the best thing that happened was getting a refund on it. Going all out was the dumbest thing my son & mother (she paid) ever did While it was nice, for that money, I could have gotten him 2 really nice rings. He ended up using the refund to buy things for his car... I felt he should have given it to my mother, but she said he could keep it..

 

[Priorityonecb]

We too gave our daughter the choice between a class ring...and an everyday ring she'd been wanting. She chose the everyday ring...and she has worn it every single day and will for years. Much better investment, and it was cheaper than the class ring she had priced out.

 

[lila]

I am 32 and actually wore my high school ring yesterday. Mine is very distinctive - not traditional, and you wouldn't know it was a high school ring. I went to a private and school and "earning" your ring was a big deal. I would never part with it.

 

[Crazy4Disney72]

I am 32 and actually wore my high school ring yesterday. Mine is very distinctive - not traditional, and you wouldn't know it was a high school ring. I went to a private and school and "earning" your ring was a big deal. I would never part with it.

I could have written this post, except I'm 37 and wear my HS ring every day! For us, because the class ring was the same for everyone (you could choose gold or silver though) it was a sign of belonging to that school and we got them in a special ceremony the spring of our junior year. I frequently get complimented on it because it's an attractive ring, people are surprised when I say it's my HS ring (since I now live in another state from my HS).

I don't get the idea of a class ring when everyone orders from a different place and they all look different anyway, no special ceremony, everyone just gets them whenever (at least this is how it is at my DS's school)....I don't get it, but DS really wanted one, so we got one for him, it was his big Christmas present last year. We did NOT order through the school, we ordered it from Walmart. It cost about $110, which is the most I wanted to have in something that I was sure DS was either never going to wear or lose somewhere or give to some girl and never get it back. He actually does wear it quite a bit, just about every day, though he's only a junior this year, I bet he won't wear it after HS, but for the money we paid, I don't care, it's just a momento of his HS years.

 

[Goofy22]

Last year I paid for my nieces class ring it was $400 some dollars and it was 10k gold from Herff Jones the company the High School uses!

 

[mominwestlake]

I also got my class ring junior year in a special ceremony! Did you go to school in Ohio? Everyone in the school had the same ring- in gold or silver. At my ds's school you can choose any style ring that you want, any stone, any engraving, etc. They get them sophomore year during their lunch period. There is nothing special about it.

 

[eatatmidnight]

If you don't purchase a ring from the school's vendor, are you still allowed to participate in the ceremony? IF you must order from the vendor in order to participate and the ceremony is important to you, then I'd order from the vendor.

 

[emh1129]

I never heard of a high school class ring before. None of my classmates or siblings had them.. but I graduated in 1999. Maybe things have changed a bit? Or it's different regionally?
I've definitely heard of college rings..

 

[Crazy4Disney72]

If you don't purchase a ring from the school's vendor, are you still allowed to participate in the ceremony? IF you must order from the vendor in order to participate and the ceremony is important to you, then I'd order from the vendor.

If your school actually has a ring ceremony, my DS 16's school did not, so it didn't really matter where you got your ring.