High School Graduation Rings: 9 Tips for Creating a Memorable Ring

3.7 million students graduate from high school each academic year. If you’ve passed math, then surely you realize that those graduates collectively have 37,000,000 fingers between them! How many of those fingers will be sporting gorgeous, unique graduation rings on commencement day? 

We don’t know the answer, but we do know this: we want you to be one of those students with an original class ring! At classrings.com, the opportunities for customization are limitless. How can you ensure that your graduation ring stands out from the crowd? 

We’ve created this guide to help you design the most memorable graduation school rings possible. We’ll walk you through nine customization tips that will help you design a ring that says something about who you really are. If you follow along, you’ll have a memorable memento of your time in school by the end of this article! 

Keep reading to begin designing the most original high school graduation rings for you and your friends! 

Tip #1: Select a Special Stone

Not every ring style has room for a stone, but when they do, they tend to be the centerpiece! It can be tempting to take the easy route and choose a stone in your school color. While there’s nothing wrong with this conventional approach, your ring might not stand out.

The second most popular option for gemstones is to choose your birthstone. There is a precious stone associated with every birth month. Adding your birthstone to your ring is a way to signal something personal about yourself without coming right out and saying it. 

If you’d like to choose your  birthstone, here is a guide:

• January: Garnet (red)
• February: Amethyst (dark purple)
• March: Aquamarine (aqua blue)
• April: Grey Moonstone (translucent) 
• May: Green onyx, aventurine, or green serpentine (green)
• June: Mother of pearl (white)
• July: Ruby (red)
• August: Peridot (olive green)
• September: Blue lapis or sapphire (dark blue)
• October: Pink tourmaline (pink)
• November: Citrine (orange)
• December: Turquoise (teal) 

Many students ignore convention and choose a stone in their favorite color. After all, you’ll be wearing this ring daily for years! Why wouldn’t you design a ring with your preferences in mind? 

At classrings.com, we offer every birthstone, so you can choose from twelve dynamic gems when designing your ring. If a pop of hot pink, aqua, or chartreuse makes you happy, go ahead and design a ring around that pop of color! 

Tip #2: Mix and Match Your Metals

Are you a gold jewelry person or a silver jewelry person? If your graduation ring is your first real piece of jewelry, you might not have that figured out yet! When you design a ring on classrings.com, you’ll be able to choose from the following metals:

• Stainless steel
• Brass gold
• .925 Sterling Silver
• 10K Real Gold
• 14K Real Gold
• 18K Real Gold

Many people choose to match all of their metals. In fact, at one time, mixing metals was a fashion taboo – like wearing two different socks! Today, mixing metals is in fashion, so feel free to break the rules and choose something outside of your comfort zone!

When some students create their rings, they do so with the understanding that they’ll be designing another class ring when they finish college. With that in mind, many students prefer a sterling silver ring with a coating.

If you plan to keep your ring for life and pass it down, you might want to choose a real gold ring. The more karats, the more gold the ring contains. Our 18K real gold rings are heirloom quality. 

Tip #3: Size Matters 

If you’re planning to wear your ring after your class ring ceremony, you’ll want to make sure that it fits! The easiest way to learn your ring size is to use a ring-sizing tool. 

This tool looks like a series of silver rings on a central keychain. You’ll try each ring on until you find the one that is comfortable and easy to remove. Most students wear their ring on the ring finger of their right hand. 

If you don’t have access to a ring sizer, you can download one online! If you have a ring that already fits, you can use it as the basis for sizing. You’ll print out a paper template and match your existing ring to the templates on the page. 

In a pinch, you can always have your finger sized at a local jewelry store. If a class ring company sets up a table at your school, you can get your finger sized there. Politely thank the representative and then use that information to order your ring at classrings.com! 

Whatever you do, don’t guess! A small ring can cut off your circulation and cause problems. A large ring can slip off easily and get lost. 

Tip #4: Terrific Text

Did you know that you and your friends have full control over the text on your class rings? While most students will include the name of their school, there is no reason why you have to! If you would like to include your school’s name in addition to other text, choose a ring style with lots of room for extra customization!

One of our favorite full customizable rings for her is our band-style ring. This ring may seem small and sleek, but it has room for customization on the top and both ring shanks! Many students include their name, a graduation year, their initials, or a team name. 

For men, we love the cushion-style ring with an oval center stone. Like the women’s ring, it allows customization in three locations. Male students frequently prefer to engrave their last name instead of their first name, but it’s up to you!

When choosing text for the outside of your ring, remember that it’s the part of the ring that the whole world can see. It might not be the right place for inside jokes or song lyrics. Before you commit, imagine how you might feel about it when it’s time to pass your ring down – if handing it to your grandkids would be embarrassing, you might reconsider! 

Tip #5: Engrave a Secret

The inside of your class ring is the best place to express yourself! The inside of the ring is the concave part that sits against the skin of your finger. Anything you choose to engrave there will be private and completely invisible to outsiders while you’re wearing the ring.

This makes it the best location to engrave a quote, a secret, a lyric, or a meaningful affirmation. On classrings.com, you can usually include up to twenty characters of custom inside text. That is plenty of room to make your ring unique and special. 

Why shouldn’t your ring be a source of strength and inspiration for you as you enter college or begin a new job after high school? Here are a few of our favorite ways to customize the inside text of a class ring:

• A favorite song lyric
• A message from a loved one
• The name of someone who has passed away
• Words of affirmation
• A motivational word or phrase
• A phrase in a foreign language
• A school motto
• A goal or ambition 
• A meaningful quote

This is the place where we encourage students to make things truly personal. Think of it as a way to make a bold statement without committing to a tattoo! 

The ring finger is traditionally associated with love for a reason. The Ancient Romans believed that a vein in your ring finger went directly to the heart. That makes your ring the perfect place to add a touch of sentimentality! 

Tip #6: A Lovely Logo 

If you can’t say everything you want to say with text, a picture is worth a thousand words! Many ring styles include space for a logo or graphic. When you order a ring from classrings.com, you can choose from a library that includes thousands of options! 

Some styles, like the cushion-cut birthstone ring, allow you to choose two logos during the customization process. There are eighteen distinct albums full of logo options. You can pick from categories like sports logos or future career logos. 

If you go through all of the options and still don’t see one you like, you have the option to upload your own! This means your options for customization are nearly limitless. If you can think of an image, you can create it and include it in the design of your unique ring!

Tip #7: Include Initials 

Many ring styles offer the opportunity to include your initials in the design. While you can include your literal initials, you can also use that space for a class year or short word. Some graduates even use the small space for an acronym that represents a meaningful quote or phrase. 

For example, you might choose to include the first letters of the title of your favorite song. You could also use the space to memorialize a loved one by including his or her initials in the design. 

If you haven’t included your school’s name elsewhere, you can also do it here. Most high schools have a three or four-letter acronym (such as “MHS” or “SMHS”) that you can include in this spot. 

Tip #8: Pick a Pendant Instead

If you truly want to be unique you can forego the ring altogether and choose a class pendant! A class pendant is a charm in the style of a class ring that you can wear on a chain around your neck. If wearing rings drives you crazy or you simply prefer a necklace, this is a great way to participate in this tradition anyway!

Most of the pendants on classrings.com have the same customization options as our rings for graduation. You can choose your stone, metal, shape, and customize your text. Many pendant options have room for a logo, too.

Choosing a pendant over a ring is a surefire way to stand out! It’s a unique option that isn’t offered by your average class ring company. 

Tip #9: Choose a Theme for Your Ring

With so many options for customization, it can be easy to end up with a ring that’s a mish-mosh of all of your random favorites. While you might love every element individually, you’ll want to make sure that they all coordinate to create a cohesive whole.

One way that many students have accomplished this is by choosing a theme for their ring. 

The easiest and most obvious theme is a “school spirit” theme. Include your school name, choose sports or club relation icons, and choose a stone in your school’s color. 

You can also choose a zodiac theme. Start with a birthstone and choose a zodiac-themed icon. You might choose to engrave your birthday on the inside of the ring. 

Some students choose an identity ring, in which they highlight a component of their lived experienced. The icon library includes autism symbols, national flags, and faith-related logos. In essence, you can create a ring that reflects who you are! 

Design Those Gorgeous Graduation Rings Today!

Whether your next adventure brings you to college, trade school, the workforce, or some far-off place, you’ll want to remember where you came from. Your ring is a gorgeous, portable memento that will allow you to bring your accomplishments along on your journey.

In essence, a graduation ring is a diploma you can wear!

You can design your beautiful and affordable graduation ring online today. Visit us at classrings.com to browse our selection of customizable styles. Our graduation rings ship in two weeks or less, so order now if you want to be rocking that ring on graduation day!