The United States Military Academy gave out the first military rings to the graduating class of 1835. The tradition has continued for almost two hundred years. It’s an important part of graduating from a military academy and many have special events, such as dinner and dances to honor the occasion. The Army’s military academy, West Point, is for the best and brightest young men and women in the country. It takes more than just a desire to attend, as you must be selected from thousands of applicants each year. If selected, there are four years ahead of you that are designed to make you into the best Army Officer possible. Not everyone will succeed until graduation, though.

Designing Army Rings

Army rings are a great way to recognize those individuals who complete their time at West Point and are ready to pursue their career in the Army. There are a number of different designs of Army rings, but the most popular is the one that closely resembles a class ring. There is a semi-precious stone on the top of the ring and a symbol, insignia, or emblem adorns each side of the ring. Some love to have the Army crest engraved inside the stone, which adds a beautiful accent. There are hundreds of symbols and emblems to choose from, each with a special meaning.

Other styles include signet rings, which feature the crest on the top instead of a semi-precious stone. There are no emblems on the sides, but this doesn’t detract from the beauty of the ring. There is a formalness and elegance to this style and many people find that this is their favorite design.  There is also a style that combines both designs, with a crest on the top and emblems or insignia on the sides.

Add an Engraving

You can have the inside of the band engraved. You may want to put the wearer’s initials or date of graduation. Perhaps you would like to include a short saying with a lot of meaning. This engraving is a great way to show the recipient that you didn’t just buy any Army ring. You put a great deal of time and energy into creating a piece of military jewelry that is personalized and just to their liking.

Gold or Silver

Most Army rings are gold. This is one of the colors of the Army and it’s what looks best with the Army’s dress uniform. West Point does have a few rules to guide the design of their graduation ring, so you may want to see what those are before you make your purchase. Valedium is a less expensive choice, but it does withstand more abuse than gold or silver. However, valedium is silver toned, so check to make sure it is allowed for a West Point graduation ring.

In Closing

Army rings are a fantastic way to recognize a soldier’s graduation from West Point. There are a lot of years of service and sacrifice ahead and many will make a lifelong career out of the Army. This is a terrific way to show your appreciation for all that they do and will do to serve this country.

]]> http://www.military-rings.com/military-rings/impressive-army-rings-for-west-point-graduates/feed/ 0 http://www.military-rings.com/soldiers-stuff/military-friendships/ http://www.military-rings.com/soldiers-stuff/military-friendships/#comments Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:00:11 +0000 tonygill http://military-rings.com/?p=264

In our early development years probably one of the first memories we have is that of becoming friends with some fictitious person and actually moving into their world for a time, because we felt so safe and comfortable there. And yes, we would only move out of there sometimes because of a question from one of our parents enquiring as to whether we were away with the fairies or not.

As we progressed and moved on to school we only felt comfortable in that environment when we became friends with some others in the class and moved on to have friends with the opposite sex. Those were the days not a care in the world and sometimes life long friendships was developed.

Military Friendships Are Very Healthy.

Ft. Knocks - Kentucky

I remember one of the most heart touching displays of friendships was when I was working in Iraq, I was promoting military rings there for the troops, well actually the deployment ring which was quite new at the time. I was at our display when to young soldiers stopped by enquiring as to what was going on; we shall refer to them as Jason and Damien. I gave them a presentation on the rings and how they could purchase one. Both of the soldiers decide that they would like to purchase a ring but one of them, Damien was getting married and could not fit it into his budget. His friend was writing up the paperwork for his order when Damien said he would he would wait for him in the Post Exchange. Before Damien strolled away, Jason enquired as to what size his wedding ring was going to be, he said it was size eleven and his girlfriend had already had it back home.

Military Rings Band of Brothers

Band of Brothers

We continued on doing the paper work for Jason and when he had finished I gave him his receipt and thanked him for his order. I was getting ready to say goodbye, when he stopped me and said, I’m not finished, I now want you to get an order form and I want to make another order for this special deployment military ring, for Damien. I’m doing this because he has been my best friend since high school and right through the military. We have fought side by side in Iraq and he saved my life, so this little ring is going to be my surprise wedding gift to him and I’m sure that when we both go our separate ways that this little military ring will make us both realize that we are truly a little band of brothers and friends.

Military Rings used as Wedding Rings

For members of the armed forces it’s not always so easy to go shopping for the big day especially if you are away on deployment or seperated by states or countries from your loved one. It’s not surprising then the amount of people that are turning their attention to military rings for the engagement rings and wedding bands. You can have both family names on both rings and the wedding date plus many other details engraved. The amount of options over and above conventional rings are many and the cost is very much less, so let your wedding gift to each other be, a custom military ring with a complimentary pendant also.

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