Chicago Sun-Times - 10% of students buy school rings

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Posted by Jim on Oct 23, 2007 248 views

Amazing what you can find when you read the local newspaper from a major city.

High school tradition gets an upgrade

October 11, 2007

By Jim Jaworski | STAFF WRITER

When listening to a presentation about class rings last school year, Hinsdale Central junior Claire Carusillo didn’t see much of a point to spending hundreds of dollars on the piece of jewelry.

“The rings were just kind of tacky,” she said. “It’s not that I don’t identify with my high school, (but) there are better ways to remember your high school years than a ring.”

Better ways than a ring? I don’t have a ring, but I remember my high school. I thought I was the only one.

In the days of letterman jackets, poodle skirts and sock hops, high school class rings were all the rage. Young couples would exchange rings and a young man would proudly wear his girl’s ring on a chain around his neck.

You know, 5 decades ago, when the grandparents of the kids looking for rings today were going to submarine races Potsie

But much like so many other things from your parent’s time, the popularity of class rings is beginning to fade from the high school hallways. The ring industry is fighting back, however. Distributors have taken many steps in the past decade to keep the interest of kids who would rather spend their money on cell phones, chrome rims and $150 jeans.

“Lots of kids still buy class rings, but they are much less popular than they once were,” said Elizabeth Elsner, sales representative for ring company Herff-Jones. “They have been holding their own for the past 15 years, but everybody used to get them.”

“less popular they they once were” Now who said this quote? It must be an idiot guy and dad who did not buy a ring. Oh wait, its a sales clerk for ring shill outfit Herff-Jones. What makes this sweeter is it is the same outfit shilling at my oldest kids school.

From simple to complex

The tradition of class rings began more than 160 years ago by cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point. The solid brass ring was distributed to emphasize unity and tradition as cadets moved on past the academy.

Yes, a school function. College level, limited options, an award and piece of recognition. Not a checklist with a hundred options and lines to fill in the blanks. And not something everyone in town gets, but only a select group.

As time passed, class rings began appearing in high schools and universities, evolving from a simple brass ring with a lone insignia to a complex, jewel-encrusted fashion accessory. Rings steadily grew in popularity as students wanted a piece of memorabilia to remember that important time in their lives.

Class rings seem to have met their peak in the 1950s and ’60s. Elsner estimates that 50 to 80 percent of public school students bought a class ring, depending on the school.

This is because the ring companies had sales reps who wanted to increase their commissions so they increased their markets. And this also increased with the increase in the middle class, boomers and disposable income.

As time passed, ring sales began to decline for a variety of factors, Elsner said. Schools used to only offer one ring variety for one flat cost. While it may not have been a problem in the past, students these days have many high-tech gadgets and expensive clothes they would rather spend their money on.

“There is more of a demand on kids’ dollars now,” Elsner said. “There’s iPods, Air Jordans, stretch limos to go to the dance. It’s not that they don’t want the rings. They just have to weigh that against buying an iPod.”

She estimates only 10 to 40 percent of public school students buy class rings, depending on the school.

Holy crap. 10 to 40 percent? This is the number that if I had told my wife she would have said I was a cranky and jadded bitter jerk. But it is not a made up number. This is the number from a ring company sales rep in an article in the Chicago Sun-Times.

The actual number of units shipped by major ring companies has remained relatively stagnant, not increasing along with population. A smaller percentage of overall students are buying them, said Cindy Kuhn, marketing director for the Class Ring Council, an industry group established in 2005 to help boost sales. The council began a marketing campaign in spring to revitalize the popularity of class rings.

“We are trying to make it more relevant, more exciting,” Kuhn said. “We want to remind students of the tradition that goes along with class rings.”

Um, let me see if I get this straight. A group of companies that MAKE rings and SELL rings for PROFIT have organized to try and get your kids to want the rings more. Yes, that sounds like shilling crap rather then an item of value on its own merit.

Competing interests

But adaptation can only go so far. While rings are more individual and customizable than ever, the industry still fights to keep students’ interest, and most importantly, their money.

Some students simply think they may have things they are more interested in spending their cash on.

“I didn’t choose to buy one,” said Hinsdale Central junior Sam Cefaratti. “I knew I wouldn’t wear it and I personally didn’t think it was worth the money for something that would end up thrown in a drawer and forgotten about. It’s really a thing of preference, some people think it’s a great way to remember high school, and some think it is a waste of money.”

This could be the people I asked about this who bought one. All of those who bought one were woman. And all of them threw them in a drawer after a few years never to be worn again by choice or body changes.

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