Talk:Class ring

Miscellaneous
Does anybody know about the tradition of turning rings? I've been looking into the subject but really haven't found anything, any insight on this matter would be greatly appreciated. --MKultra 14:38, 13 October 2005 (UTC)


 * Apparently, the insignia is supposed to be turned inward if wearing the class ring while in classes, then turned outward after graduating. DonaNobisPacem 06:13, 7 March 2006 (UTC)


 * From another site :
 * Class rings are worn with the point of the school crest pointing toward you until you graduate, when the ring is turned around (some schools, such as mine, have a special ceremony for this). The point facing outward symbolizes your leaving your school and going out into the world. DonaNobisPacem 06:16, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Apparently ring manufacturers recently have been telling ring buyers this, but every etiquette guide that mentions how one properly wears a class ring says otherwise. To wear any kind of signet ring with the insignia facing outward is highly pretentious; the point to wearing a class ring is not to "show off," but rather is to commemorate one's graduation.  See Vanderbilt, Complete Guide to Etiquette, as cited in the article. 66.140.75.57 16:25, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Ok, I looked through the Vanderbilt Complete Guide to Etiquette, but couldn't find any mention of class rings. Since this is the only topic this article incorporates, care to cite a page? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.159.83.207 (talk) 14:40, 18 May 2010 (UTC)


 * I think it is a little silly that this page says it should always be worn inward when it is traditional with most universities to have it inward while attending and turned outward at graduation. Has been a tradition at my school for many years. Even if Miss Manners said you SHOULD, tradition... and what most students actually do... should be noted.71.113.224.220 23:57, 11 October 2007 (UTC)


 * So, as far as a class ring for high school, the question is, after you've graduated from high school, do you wear the ring with the school's logo/crest/whatever facing towards you or do you wear it with the crest facing away from you? 98.193.77.218 04:39, 17 October 2007 (UTC)


 * The large majority of class rings for HS and College are worn with the "writing/design facing the user" while they are still in school, and are turned outward either at graduation or at Sr. event that represents the wearer "ready to face the world." I graduated HS 10 years ago, and that is the way we did it then. At my college Alma Mater, you get your ring the first part of your senior year and wear it with the design facing you. During the spring a few weeks before graduation there is a formal ball called "ring dance" when the ring is turned around and worn that way from then on out. People from my university wear their rings all of their lives, and it is always worn with the design facing outward, and it has always been that way for many years. 71.113.224.220 01:47, 19 October 2007 (UTC)

I just entered some info on how the ring should be worn and when it should be turned outward - there's enough support on these discussion boards to confidently say that the ring should be turned outward. Additionally, when I got my college ring, I asked the Herff Jones rep how to wear the ring, and he told me to wear the insignia facing me while in school and to turn it outward when I graduate - there are many other people on here with a similar experience and very few people who beleive the ring should stay turned in - so I changed the text to reflect the majority opinion on here Xmacro (talk) 01:45, 6 September 2008 (UTC)

Class Ring
Does anybody know which finger a class ring is typically put on?


 * I was just researching this very question - according to a couple of sites, it is supposed to be the right third (I assume they mean middle?) finger.DonaNobisPacem 06:13, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
 * right third (the "ring finger")--- the statement was excluding the thumb....meaning the finger to the RIGHT of the middle, next to the pinky. Unless you are military or the school has its own tradition for it, you should never wear a class ring on your left ring finger, as that is reserved as a marriage indicator. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.113.224.220 (talk) 01:54, 19 October 2007 (UTC)

VMI & Norwich Rings
See Mediation Cabal/Cases/2006-04-22 Virginia Military Institute. Washington and Lee University's newspaper isn't a reliable source (for this claim) because it does no comparison of other rings.--Vidkun 14:21, 1 December 2006 (UTC)


 * Check the facts, VMIs and Norwich rings are the largest allowed by US law. Norwich University(The First and Oldest Private Military College in the United States), VMI has always matched Norwich's rings.Koonoonga 15:45, 10 December 2006 (UTC)


 * US law sets ring standards? Now that would be a verifiable fact and a great addition to the article. What section of US law covers class rings? Rillian 18:07, 10 December 2006 (UTC)


 * None. This is an oft repeated claim by VMI, Norwich University and other military school graduates, that their rings are considered brass knuckles, or deadly weapons.  One editor on wikipedia (one of the VMI partisans) cited Virginia laws, except that there was no mention of ring weights in (or around) the section cited.  In fact a search of Virginia state laws shows NOTHING regarding ring weights.  This is an example of urban myth, and used to inflate the importance of the school.  As such, it has no place on wikipedia.--Vidkun 20:08, 10 December 2006 (UTC)


 * Once again Vidkun, you are wrong. Check the source on this from VMI's discussion page, "The maximum allowed size for a VMI ring is 44 dwt., as anything greater is classified as a deadly weapon under the Code of Virginia, § 18.2-57."  Check the code before you speak next time Vidkun.  The statement on the class ring page is AMONG the largest.  We can all agree that 44 dwt. is AMONG the largest.  The statement stands.  What is it that is getting your panties in a knot over this factual statement?Koonoonga 20:49, 10 December 2006 (UTC)


 * Actually, I did check the source: here. There is NO reference to weight of rings in that section, nor in any of the OTHER sections linked in that document.  Try again!--Vidkun 21:00, 10 December 2006 (UTC)


 * What is it that is getting your panties in a knot over this factual statement? Because it is NOT a factual statement, or at least it is not supported as such in the citation from Washington and Lee College. What CAN be reliably stated is that one reporter at Washington and Lee makes the claim that VMI rings are among the largest.  The fact that someone makes that claim is verifiable, the claim itself is not.--Vidkun 21:02, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

This article used to be an article
I read it a few years ago and it seemed like it needed clean up. While some of it might have been useless trivia - a lot of the info was good for wikipedia. I can't believe someone gutted the article.67.166.245.50 (talk) 06:18, 26 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I read through your edits that ultimately lead to you pretty much single handedly gutting the article. Taking out references to the major ring manufacturers is just one of several poor editing decisions that you made.  You also removed a lot of unsourced information without giving users an opportunity to post a source.  In my experience, most unsourced information is just an oversight on the behalf of the OP.  I'm not about to dissect each and every edit you've made in which you removed information (you seem to have done each edit individually as opposed to just hacking it to pieces in one go) - but I figured I would give these as examples of poor wikipedia editing behavior.


 * This article, while far from perfect, used to be a decent source of encyclopedic information on wikipedia. Its a travesty that some trolling, anal retentive user could so casually gut an article like this and still have the audacity to defend his/her actions.  I would recommend going back to an earlier version.Drsocc (talk) 17:37, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

Yep, the troller is still here. See history for the so called user. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.148.27.219 (talk) 05:20, 30 December 2008 (UTC)

Outside the U.S.
Class rings are also made in Canada, Mexico, and the Philippines.

Class rings in the Philippines
The American custom of wearing class rings was probably introduced in the Philippines during the American colonial period by the American colonial gendarmerie, the Philippine Constabulary. The basis for this assertion is the existence of a white metal (possibly gold-plated at one time) class ring, with plain shanks and a smooth, deep red, narrow, elliptical stone, surrounded by the words:  PHILIPPINE CONSTABULARY SCHOOL. The PC School graduated colonial constabulary officers from 1907 through 1916. The PCS was renamed PC Academy in 1916, and in 1935, renamed Philippine Military Academy. It is unknown when and where the class ring was made, for which class it was intended, or who owned it.


 * This needs to cite a reliable source before it can be introduced into the article, per wikipedia's WP:Verifiability policy. HrafnTalkStalk 05:50, 30 December 2008 (UTC)

Other Schools
This article mentions a "West Point" school that has a different tradition. Is it really needed? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Scy1192 (talk • contribs) 02:28, 15 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Given (i) that West Point started the class-ring tradition & (ii) the paucity of other sourced info, I'd suggest leaving it in for the meantime. HrafnTalkStalk(P) 04:09, 15 May 2009 (UTC) Norwich university the oldest private military academy in the nation started its own class ring tradition in the 1920's the size of the ring is now a 44 pennyweight

Aggie Ring
Seriously?!? Does that need to be linked to on "see also"? Why not just link to every high school and university? What the crap makes Texas A&M so friggin' special that they get linked to and nobody else does? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.113.116.173 (talk) 16:03, 9 July 2009 (UTC) -- Totally agree about Texas A and M... Who cares what they do with their rings... We might as well put any other college in this category. Most aggies I've met have been big 'ol dorks anyhow :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.165.55.34 (talk) 05:29, 14 February 2011 (UTC)