<P> Today class rings can be customized, from the material and style that the ring is made of to the color and cut of the gem in the center . There is a wide selection of emblems, pictures, and words that can be added to the sides of the rings and even inside the center gem . </P> <P> The tradition of class rings originated with the class of 1835 at the United States Military Academy at West Point . </P> <P> The Complete Book of Etiquette by Amy Vanderbilt indicates the following protocol for wearing of a class ring . For as long as the wearer is in school, the insignia should face the wearer to remind him / her of the goal of graduation . Upon graduation, the class ring gains the status of a "badge of honor" similar to a diploma, with the effect that graduation entitles the wearer to display the insignia facing outward so that it faces other viewers . An additional justification for this practice is the rationale that the ring also symbolizes the graduate him / herself: During the wearer's time in school, he or she focuses on self - development and goals specific to the insular academic environment; upon graduation, the wearer enters the wider world and puts what he or she has learned to work in shaping it . </P> <P> A notable exception to this protocol is the custom followed by older graduating classes of the United States Military Academy at West Point . Today, as in years past, Academy graduates frequently wear their rings on the left hand in observance of the ancient belief, which also underlay the Anglo - American custom of wearing wedding bands on the left hand, that a vein connects the left ring finger to the heart . Prior to graduation, these classes wore the USMA Class Ring with the Class Crest closest to the heart, signifying a given cadet's bond to his class within the Academy . Following graduation, members of these classes wore (and, for surviving members, still wear) the ring with the Academy Crest closest to the heart, signifying their bond with the Academy as a whole . </P>

When do high school students get class rings