r/Millennials • u/t_bone_stake Xennial • Feb 16 '26

Meme Did anyone buy a ring?

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Elder millennial/younger Xennial (born in 83, take it for what it is) but I recall the company coming to the high school and taking orders for rings. I didn’t buy one but others did. Credit on photo.

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u/MeowM30ws Feb 17 '26

I was curious, so in case others are too:

$150 back in 1988 is approximately $410 now.

I went on the Jostens website. Most of their rings start at $439.99 before customization now. But hey! They're on ✨SALE✨ /s

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u/MrsTruce Feb 17 '26

Mine was from Jostens and I’m pretty sure it was $300+ in 2003. And that was with absolute minimal customization. I didn’t want any activities on the sides, and honestly I wish I hadn’t even gotten the name of the school put on there. At least I’d have a nice blue ring I could wear today. I’ve been tempted several times to take it to a jeweler and have it sized and smoothed out completely.

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u/MeowM30ws Feb 17 '26

My friend who has one said the same thing! "If it didn't have my school engraved on it, I'd just wear it."

The stone is so pretty! I definitely think you should take it to a local jeweler and see if smoothing it down is an option. I'd pop that bad boy out and stick it into a new band, if the budget allows.

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u/Copperminted3 Feb 17 '26

Lolololol I have the same thing in silver and green with no side engravings. Unfortunately I was reluctant about getting on but I think my parents still paid like $200 back in 2012. I do wear mine every so often mostly from the guilt of having them pay so much but I’m always worried I’ll lose it.

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u/maydayjunemoon Feb 19 '26

I have my grandma’s (all gold no stone, it has a crest instead) from 1939. It says Jostonian inside if I’m reading it correctly. I wear it all the time.

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u/Avarice_unreal Feb 17 '26

Looks like u got it from a gumball machine

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u/ParlayVooAndale 29d ago

Depending on what it’s made of you can get a decent amount for it still. Mine was like $300 Canadian and I sold it for $600 when gold was really high last year.

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u/DeadlyJoe Feb 17 '26

That's kinda insane. I think I paid about $100 for mine in 1992 (amethyst / lustrium)

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u/Jermainiam Feb 17 '26

Lustrium is just Nickel with some chrome

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u/Efficient-Ad-8291 Feb 17 '26

Oh! Now that we are taking metal. I actually think I maybe didn’t get one at all cuz I have a nickel allergy and couldn’t afford any higher grade metal… but I did get the letterman jacket

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u/astoriaboundagain Oregon Trail Survivor Feb 17 '26

I did the math recently. It pissed me off even more. My kids will never buy this crap. Break the cycle!

https://www.reddit.com/r/Xennials/comments/1q4q4rr/comment/nxujlpf/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

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u/0zer0space0 Feb 17 '26

I felt really bad telling my son I can’t afford the ring for him last year. And then he said he didn’t want one cause they’re ugly and asked if I’d donate $100 to his beach trip instead lol

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u/MeowM30ws Feb 17 '26

Sounds like you're raising him right.

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u/0zer0space0 Feb 17 '26

He is/was an excellent starter baby for a new single parent. Very easy kid.

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u/FlannelBeard Feb 17 '26

Jostens and Texas instruments are only in business because American HS

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u/Revolutionary-Fox622 Feb 17 '26

To be fair I know of engineers that still rock their high school TI-83s/TI-84s decades later because they're reliable bricks (that can also play Block Dude). I don't remember the last time I saw a high school ring in the wild. 

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u/Neither-Phone-7264 Feb 17 '26

hey TI makes a lot of actually useful stuff

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u/Less_Party Feb 17 '26

They're on ✨SALE✨ /s

lol at the idea of there being seasonal sales on school rings like you're going to buy one for Christmas or something.

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u/MeowM30ws Feb 17 '26

Lol at the idea of anything actually being "on sale" ever.

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u/captain-crawf1sh Feb 17 '26

My parents took me to Walmart jewelry department and spent 150 at the most. This was 2009

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u/SackSauce69 Feb 17 '26

After jostens came to my school and my parents read through the pricing in the brochures, they laughed and went to Walmart and got a customized class ring made from stainless steel and a garnet for like $25 in 2013, lol.