As a student at the University of Notre Dame, we leave here with many great memories and mementos by the time we graduate. Among these, the class ring is one of the most visible and well known. Students are allowed to purchase a class ring upon entering their junior year and completing 60 credit hours. That moment when one places that order for their class ring is a truly exciting one. However, as with most great things in life, this occasion comes at a price. The price is between $1063-$2698 for the guys and $690-$1365 for the girls.
The prices mentioned above are for the gold rings, and are almost to be expected due to the expensive nature of gold. Yet, there is one caveat here most people do not pay attention to. The current prices for our class rings were set in January 2013. At the time, the price of gold was skyrocketing, and it was fair for the University to raise prices for class rings in order to avoid losing money. Fast forward to today and the whole situation has changed.
The current price of gold is now approximately $1155 per ounce compared to $1657.50 per ounce back in January 2013. That’s an approximately 30 percent difference in price that was not passed on to us students as savings. Even if one accounts for the 3.6 percent wage inflation since 2013, we’re still losing out on 26 percent at least. One should not forfeit this everlasting memento for money, but it would be nice if the University did not overcharge us for a change.
Bottom line: These rings should cost between $777-$1974 for the guys and $505-$999 for the girls if the University were to pass along its savings on gold to the students.
Albert He
senior
off campus
March 17
All pain, no gain: The true price of a class ring
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.