Memories On Hand: The Beauty Of Class Rings The first recorded instance of class rings for a graduating class occurred at West Point in 1835. The tradition has spread, and now in the United States class rings are a common purchase by studetns, often times seen as almost an intregal part of tradition as the caps and gowns on graduation day. Class rings are a great way of not only having a living momento to your high school or college years, but also as a way to tie you to your fellow classmates, to increase that sense of comradery and belonging to something greater.