“Not everything that glitters is gold.”
It’s a modern twist on Shakespeare’s initial quote, but its meaning dates back hundreds of years to Aesop’s fables.
In 1835, the tradition of class rings came to life at the United States Military Academy at West Point, spreading throughout the country. 190 years later, the idea of the class ring has changed from the classic signet-style ring to more modern class bands, bracelets, or dog tags. The tradition lives on in older generations passing down the lore to high school students now.
Jostens, an academic memorabilia company, was established in 1897. They specialize in yearbooks, graduation regalia and what they claim are personalized, high quality rings. Jostens has become one of the most prominent companies that offers school merchandise, even manufacturing rings for the NFL.
The high-quality rings they boast aren’t all they seem to be. Their uncustomized signet-style rings are $345 without customization. On the site itself, Jostens markets those rings as gold-colored. In reality, the ring’s base prices are from the default white lustrium, which are silver-colored.
Lustrium is a cheaper alternative for sterling silver. It’s a great material for affordable rings, but not exactly their longevity and ease of wear. Composed of nickel and chromium, there’s a high-chance that if you get a class ring with this luster of a band, your finger will turn green due to oxidation.
The material of the ring does not have to be lustrium, but if you’re looking forward to a silver ring, your cheapest secondary choice is sterling silver. Compared to the marketed $345 base price tag of the Pacifica and Nautilus, it’s a $240 increase to $589.
Now, I’d imagine that most people’s eyes weren’t drawn to the bulky, vintage rings like the Pacifica and Nautilus. I know my eyes were set on the $459 Serenity ring. The slimmer stone and sleek design were what caught my interest. I perused the personalization and saw that the stones were simulated.
A simulated stone is obviously not the gem itself. I had no real issues with that fact, because a gemstone could be faceted into it, though that would involve a third party.
Flexibility in customization is also in Jostens itself — free adjustments to the rings, change in engravings, swap in stones, things like that. There were so many free additions to the initial purchase of a ring, and pressure when I read the “Golden Ticket” the representative gave us– $100 off a letter jacket and a free cap and gown.
Rereading the fine-print, the free cap and gown only applied if you bought the $293 package, meaning you would still have to spend $240 for it. Separately, the cap and gown is a 100% polyester garment at a price tag of $53.
Price can be an afterthought regarding memorabilia. Memories are worth their weight in gold, but a class ring isn’t the best way of recalling those fond memories.
Souvenirs of your life come in a multitude of forms. Awards, photos, the off-note you might have scribbled on an assignment — those are the most material representations of the past. There can be an abstract feeling of nostalgia in a certain song, where you’re instantly transported to a certain moment in your life.
Listening to “Real Life” by The Marías, I’m instantly transported back to last year’s back-to-back snow days and bitter winter bus rides. Music doesn’t have to be your forte, many things can hold sentimental value. Assigned readings in class. A certain smell. A school shirt, or favorite hoodie. Your class notebooks and notes are picture proof of what you were like in the past and what it was like to be you.
Photos will always be the most tried and true way of immortalizing yourself. A point five of a friend, or just a clumsy selfie, those are already moments you cannot go back and change. Expressions in raw photos can’t be faked.
A class ring can be ‘that eternally material memory in a fancy box’. There is no way in denying that, when any object can gain its keepsake from an everyday adventure. But, it shouldn’t be purchased with the sole intention of being the most faithful representation of who you were in high school. Instead, as an optional addition.
Memorabilia should be bought with the intentions of what it will specifically and personally remind you of in the future. The value should come with how emotional that object makes you feel and how heartfelt it still is, far down in the line.
