OT: Class rings - do you have one? Do you wear it regularly?
There was a discussion on the UM CFB Risk discord the other day about class rings and got me wondering. How many of you have a class ring from HS, college, or something else (do people do those for grad school, med school, other things)? How often do you wear it, if at all?
I have a UM class ring which I used to wear fairly regularly after graduating for about a year, but I haven't worn it regularly since (about 2000 or so).
Recently "found" it again after pandemic-induced spring cleaning (thanks a lot, honey). Anyway, here is mine. Glad I got the "M" on the stone. And yes, I color code meetings on my Outlook calendar.
Nope
Michigan, No. HS, Yes. Do not wear.
Ditto. My biggest benefit of getting the HS ring was it made it clear that I should not spend money for a college ring. Hardly ever wore it, had a gf who wore it on a necklace for a bit so in that sense it's a low cost gf gift.
I have two obnoxiously large high school football rings. Never took them off as a senior, but now they are just memorabilia. I will occasionally try to sneak them on when Mrs. Blues and I go to a fancy restaurant just to embarrass her.
I decided not to get a class ring or varsity jacket and I've never regretted that decision. I have my graduation cap tassel and some sports awards from HS.
My mom was OBSESSED with me getting a class ring, class key, varsity Jacket-- the whole 9 yards. I didn't want any of it.
Since I had some control over the class ring (and because she knew how stubborn I could be), she went out and ordered me a brand new, fairly high-end varsity jacket. If I remember right, it had like a goose-down lining, two types of leather-- really nice. My brothers were stuck with the 2nd-hand woolen jackets hat most kids at my school got . I am not sure why she did it. It was a nice damn jacket, though -- I remember overheating in that sucker while shoveling snow in -20 degree weather.
She also ordered me a class key, which might be the dumbest piece of jewelry I could think up. But I did manage to avoid getting a class ring.
HS class rings are one of the world's biggest scams. Nobody wears those things. I feel bad I got my parents to buy me a ring which I wore precisely zero times. Seems kinda fishy that everyone is cool with Jostens going around selling high school kids on a product they know most of them will never wear
Seems like college rings are only a big deal to a few schools. IIRC Virginia Tech and TAMU are two of the big ones
I think the class rings from the military academies are a big deal.
That's why in the military they often refer to the academy grads as Ringknockers.
Anyone else feel graduating from an academy is impressive enough to make wearing the ring a reasonable thing to do but not so much for any other university?
Yes, getting a class ring from one of the service academies is a big deal. You receive them at the end of your Junior year which is commemorated by the Ring Dance during Commissioning (graduation) Week. I used to wear mine occasionally when I first graduated from the Naval Academy but have worn it very infrequently the last 10-15 years. It's just a big, heavy ring.
Agreed. It reminds me of the book ("Who's Who in American High Schools") that had mini-bios of "only exclusive students" (ones that took the bait and sent $).
The two schools you listed both have Corps of Cadets, which may explain the connection between the service academies and VT/TAMU regarding the prevalence of class rings.
Let the buyer beware I always say.
Of course you’re right that high school seniors generally lack the perspective to understand that, within a year at most after graduating, wearing your high school ring is one of the stupidest looking things around.
I think rings are big at MIT. I don’t see the appeal.
Lord of the Rings is big at MIT
I got my Dad’s gold Michigan class ring when he passed away. It looks very similar to the OP’s. He also had a silver Michigan class ring. He would color coordinate his accessories. Silver eyeglass frames, silver pen and pencil set, silver wedding ring, silver watch, and silver Michigan ring. He’d do the same thing with gold. He also had a UofDetroit ring from undergrad. He got me my own class ring as a Ph.D. present. Needless to say, he was really into class rings. I’ll wear mine on special occasions or sometimes just because, but that’s rare.
No & No.
Slight tangent - my dad went to West Point and I was privileged to be part of an annual ceremony where they take rings donated by former cadets or their families over the past 12 months; melt them into an ingot, and then include a shaving of it with a shaving of all other annually generated ingots (I think they've been doing this for ~ 20 years now) and include those shavings when they create the class rings of the next graduating class. Pretty cool tradition.
To quote Fritz Crisler - "Tradition is something you can't bottle.You can't buy it at the corner store.But it is there to sustain you when you need it most. I've called upon it time and time again.And so have countless other Michigan athletes and coaches.There is nothing like it.I hope it never dies."
No class ring from anywhere, but I am interested in hiring you as my personal calendar consultant. I need more organization in my life.
I don't think wearing a class ring is a thing anymore. You kinda just look like a mob boss if you wear one of those things
Only exception is if you're a pro athlete wearing a championship ring
Got one in high school. I lose and gain weight really quickly and had to get it resized twice and then gave up
Never owned a class ring. But I do have a replica 1986 Boston Celtics championship ring that was given to me as a gag gift and I’m starting to think that, when I hit old age and start to lose my marbles, I might just embrace senility and start wearing it.
I have both my dad's and my high school class rings. They both are in a box somewhere. That's not why I'm replying, though.
It astounds me that more people do not color code their meetings. I have done it for years and even showing people how & why I do it... they still don't.
Used to wear mine for a few years after college and eventually stopped wearing it. Memories and some of life's lessons last a lifetime and don't require a ring to memorialize.
I got a HS ring and wore it for about 3 weeks and didn’t like the feel of wearing a ring on my finger. Didn’t bother getting a college ring for that reason. Also, told my wife I didn’t want to wear a wedding ring so don’t get me one, so she didn’t. I’m a no bling kind of guy.
My college ring, but I haven't worn it in over 20 years. Having arthritic knuckles, I'm not sure I could if I wanted to.
Have one for graduating UM undergrad. I'm not much of a jewelry person, but got it as a gift.
I wear it occasionally (only for professional formal events really), but it is a bit bulky and needs to be resized anyway.
I graduated from HS at Cass Tech in 1991. I wore my class ring every day until I think I was a junior at UM.
I graduated from UM in 1996. I've worn my UM ring every day since (unless I was sick and in bed all day). It's beautiful and a great icebreaker.
Go Blue
Greetings from a fellow Ducati owner.
I have a ring from Michigan undergrad. I'm not really a jewelry guy, but my mom wanted to buy me a ring and I warmed to the idea. It hasn't been worn a ton, but I am still happy to have it.
By a strange coincidence. I have two friends that got the same ring style/design as I did. We never talked about it, but ended up with the same ring. It is the basic design with the writing on the side (degree on one, year on the other), but no stone on top, just the UM seal.
For the first few years out of grad school, I would wear it sporadically, maybe 1-2x/month usually for a Michigan sporting event or for events where a little bling seemed reasonable or where there would be other Michigan alum. Now, it gets worn once or twice a year, usually associated with a big game.
The only people I know that wear them are A&M grads, and they're nerdy as fuck.
Perhaps on account of the military connection again.
I don’t wear any rings (not even my wedding) but I know one group of men who wear and show off their rings, U of M football players that have BigTen championship rings. Three different times I’ve been talking with former players and each showed me his ring just to prove that he wasn’t b.s.ing me (also they’re f-ing proud of it). First was Rick Leach as he was entering the stadium with his suite level ticket, just stopped and talked for about 3 minutes. Mike Leoni (‘78 Rose Bowl) started talking with me while we were waiting for an outside table at Prickly Pear on Main st. ( he even bought my wife and I margaritas). Just a few months ago Jim Conley (‘64 Rose Bowl) stopped and talked to me before a basketball game for about 5 minutes about his captaincy and his screwed up knees, etc. Each one showed me the big rose on their rings.
I was in the dorm with Mike and Tony Leoni - not the sharpest tools in the shed. I think Dad owned a construction company in Flint. Used to get their car towed regularly from parking in the no parking zone outside of West Quad.
I don't have one and I wear it all the time.
The only people I know who wear class rings graduated from Notre Dame. Normal people shouldn't wear them.
I do have a high school class ring. I wore it a few times but it now just sits in a box on my bookshelf. Maybe my grandkids will one day find it and think it's cool, a tangible piece of my history. I feel the same way about my grandfather's old freemason medals.
I wore my M class ring for many, many years. Stopped wearing it when it got a gash along the M encrusted in the blue stone. I've often wondered if there is some place I could send it to be repaired. I think Jostens was the company that sold me the ring way back in 1980.
I have a HS class ring and two state championship rings. I don't wear any of them much but have them tucked away in a special place.
April 23rd, 2020 at 10:05 PM ^
In your butt right?
The only piece of jewelry I really wear is my wedding ring. I haven’t worn a watch in at least 15 years.
I guess I do have a couple of pins that I wear occasionally but only in very specific settings.
I lost my high school ring within a month of receiving it. Needless to say, I didn’t get a college one
No. I didn’t peak in high school
College ring, yes. Wore it off and on for about 12-15 years, but noticed it started shrinking so I stopped, lol. Really, it was just one more thing to take on and off so I just stopped.
I lost mine in a girl back '89... I haven't seen it since.
I think it will show up on an X-ray.
I didn’t even bother to attend my own graduation from high school, that’s how valuable I felt the previous 12 years were to my intellectual development.
I only did mine because I knew my mom and dad would be upset if I didn’t.
Longest 3 damn hours of my life.
None for High School - that was not very important to me
I have a smaller Michigan signet ring that I wear all the time. No stone of any - kind of like this without the black - all gold. It is pretty modest in size 
The girl who was my girlfriend in high school has it ... summer before senior year I bailed on HS and went to play Jr hockey in Canada.
College? No. Grad School? No. But I have thought about getting one from my grad school just because. But I cant justify spending hundreds of dollars on a ring when I hardly wear jewelry
Nope
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