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Friday, February 3rd
Balfour is one of the largest commencement service companies that provides personalized products such as apparel, jewelry, yearbooks, graduation caps and gowns, announcement products, and photography. They are known all throughout North America with about 5,000 team members. Balfour also owns and operates GradImages, University Photo, Gaspard, ArtCarved, KeepSake and Taylor Publishing Company.
Sleek, modern options
Balfour has a selection of high school and college rings. The categories include the Kendra Scott Collection, University Collection, Journey Collection, Flourish, Prevail, Essence, Identity, Legend, Honor, and Standard. Right away we noticed that they have options for slim, modern designs that might appeal to some people who don't want a classic chunky looking class ring. The Kendra Scott, University, and Journey Collections have styles that wouldn't initially appear to be class rings, but rather slim, dainty, pretty accent rings with center stones.
Unnecessary extra steps
There are hundreds of rings to choose from at Balfour, so you're sure to find a style you like. Once you select a ring design, you have to type in your school and then Balfour shows a list of rings available to you. We wish you could just view all of the rings at once. If you want to narrow down your options, we suggest doing so by price since some of the rings start at over $600.
Upgrade options
On top of base prices, you'll have the option of upgrading your stones to real diamonds, which is a few extra hundred dollars. You can also upgrade the metal type, and finish. Lastly, you'll select the design of the sides, center stone color, and fill out whether or not you want an engraving. If you need to spread your ring payments out, Balfour allows you to do so over the span of 3 months.
Shipping varies based on location and school
The estimated delivery for most rings is 4-8 weeks. All high school rings are shipped directly to your local school representative and often subject to ring ceremony events if your school has one. For specific delivery dates, high school students will have to work through their representative. Rings for college students are shipped straight to their home and require a signature upon delivery. Shipping costs are based on if orders are individually or bulk shipped to a school or straight to the customer, but you should expect to pay about $20 for shipping.
Easy gift option
If you're wanting to give a class ring as a gift, Balfour makes it easy. You simply pick the jewelry style and send a personal gift message via email or text to the recipient. They'll receive a link to the jewelry and can customize the jewelry however they like. Once the design is finalized, you'll receive a link to go online and complete the purchase.
Limited warranty
If you're unsatisfied with your Balfour ring, you can't return it for a refund, but you can work with customer service to have it repaired to meet your needs. All class rings come with a limited lifetime warranty that ensures Balfour will replace your ring one time within a 4-year period for a fraction of the cost, not including diamonds, champion rings, or genuine stones.
Room for improvement
Although Balfour has an "A+" rating from the Better Business Bureau, their customer reviews aren't great. A few complaints say customer service is rude, the quality of their rings is bad (receiving a ring with an upside down and backwards engraving, wrong stone colors, wrong sizing), incorrect order updates, and more. The number of frustrating reports from buyers is concerning and enough for us to suggest going elsewhere for class rings. It may not be worth dealing with poor customer service or risking issues with your ring that has to be sent back and fixed.
It's a long-standing tradition for high school and college graduates to get a class ring to symbolize their achievement. It represents the hard work and dedication you put into getting an education, your alma mater, any extracurricular activities you participated in, and the people who changed your life along the way.
Class rings have never been so customizable. It used to be that there were only a couple of ring designs to choose from and they were usually sold by just one or two companies. Now you can compare pricing online among different retailers and browse a variety of band colors, stones, engraving options, and sizes that reflect your educational experience and personal style.
Once you see how many appealing class ring choices there are online, you'll want to start designing your own right away. Whether you're rewarding yourself with a class ring or giving it as a gift to a loved one, it will be a cherished possession for years to come.
There are quite a few companies that offer class rings, so we have provided important information for you to consider when deciding who to buy from:
TopConsumerReviews.com has reviewed and ranked the best class ring stores available today. We hope this information helps you find a company that provides a seamless and enjoyable experience - letting you design a ring you're excited about that will forever represent your years in school!
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