why are grad rings so expensive?
Q.Should i just go to a jewellery store and ask them to make up a ring with my school name and major? my school charges 200 bucks for silver ring. the silver content is worth about a dollar as silver is about 12 buck an ounze.
A.While you do pay for any precious metal in a graduation ring, a good deal of the cost, is the labor involved. These are not, after all, just pulled off the shelf. Each and every ring is made expecially to order, with the desired designs, years, and other personalized info, and made to the right size. Each is custom made. That costs money. And you buy rather more with the usual class ring than is traditional with most other jewelry, in terms of service and warranty. While it may not always be the case any more with all companies (check. It's worth it if it's there), the class ring manufacturers have traditionally stood by their product almost indefinately, for the original owner of a ring, even to the point of remaking the thing years or decades later, if it becomes too worn or damaged, and doing that for a mostly nominal fee. And even minor service may represent more work than you realize. With most class rings, the companies don't even have a repair department. If you send your ring in for changing the size, or because there's some blemish you wish repaired, they just scrap the ring, pull the mold they made for your ring back off the shelf, and make you a whole new one. In part this is because it's more efficient and less costly for them to not have a bunch of employees just doing repairs, but it's also because with some of the metals they make the rings out of, repairs are simply not possible. And don't underestimate just what goes into making these rings. The type of detailing and carving involved is generally way beyond what any typical custom jewelerly shop can do in house, unless they are equipped with the latest revolutions in jewelry making, CAD/CAM technology. That at least makes it possible for a jeweler to make a model equal in quality to what the class rings need for casting. But it too, isn't cheap. And after casting, typical class rings then need stones set. Now, it's cheap enough raw material in most of the stones, but try finding a source for synthetic sapphire with just the school crest you wish encrusted into the top of the stone. Again, this is all custom, stuff the average jeweler cannot do, and doesn't have easy access to. And with many of the class rings now made, even the stone setting is no longer simple and traditional. Stones are set with closed backs behind them, using a sealant or gasket between the stone and metal, so water, dirt, oils, etc, don't get behind the stones. Some literally have the space behind the stone filled with a specialized resin to do the same. The result is a stone that doesn't end up looking grungy and dirty as you wear the ring. Sounds simple enough, but you'll find few, if any, custom goldsmiths or jewelry shops with the facilities to duplicate that sort of method. And often, the metal in class rings has been heat treated to harden it. While we're used to this with steel, in gold and silver this is rather trickier and less traditional. Few goldsmiths know how to do this, or bother, but it increases the durability of the rings by quite a bit. In short, class rings are not cheaply made mass produced baubles. They're rather on the cutting edge of technologically advanced jewelry making, and you end up paying a premium for that level of quality. While you COULD go into your average jewelry store and order a class ring, it may not be a match for what your school is selling, since that is usually via an exclusive marketing agreement. So if your local jeweler can order one for you, it will be through a different company, and the design may be different from the "official" one. Which may be just fine. However, the key thing is to understand that the only thing that changes here is who you order your ring from. The school is acting as a retailer for their official supplier company, and the local retail jeweler would be doing the same with whatever class ring manufacturer it is dealing with. I'd rather expect that the jewelry store will be taking a higher percentage markup than the school in many cases, or at least, not much different. You're unlikely to be saving much money, if at all. You may wish also, to look at some of the alternative metals offered. In addition to gold or silver, class rings are also offered in a number of often fancy named alloys. Often, these are merely nifty marketing names for surgical stainless steel, or something similar. Give these serious consideration. The stuff makes a very durable and long lasting ring, and with the manufacturer's being willing to stand behind the product if it ever needs repair or sizing (impossible by conventional means), it's a pretty interesting choice.
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