On Ring Day, thousands of students will receive their piece of “Aggie gold.” But each year, there are some who opt for a ring of a different color.
A less sought out option is the silver-colored Aggie Ring, made of either Polara or white gold. From year to year, about two percent of students receive the white gold ring and less than one percent receive the Polara ring. The option to choose the white gold or Polara finish originated during the 1970s, said Kathryn Greenwade, vice president for communications and human resources at The Association of Former Students.
For this semester’s ring day, there are a total of 181 students who have ordered a white gold or Polara ring, 41 of whom are attending the A&M campus in Qatar.
The Polara ring is a blend of silver and palladium and starts at about $300, while the cost of the white gold ring runs similar to the gold Aggie ring.
Reasons for choosing these options range from religious beliefs to personal preferences. Biomedical engineering junior Mohamed Harhash said that as a Muslim man, he is not allowed to wear gold jewelry, so he ordered the ring made of Polara.
“It is forbidden in my religion for males to wear gold,” Harhash said. “It is not a masculine thing to wear gold. It is only for females, for beauty. Males are not supposed to show signs of beauty.”
Marketing graduate student Salar Khokhar purchased a white gold ring because he liked the look of it. When he ordered it in 2014 as an undergraduate student, it was not a popular choice. After inquiring with the Association about the ring, he was able to find the option online and order it. Now it is always a topic of conversation when he meets Aggies around the world.
“I just looked at it, and it looked different,” Khokhar said. “It was nice, and I wanted to put a diamond on it and what went well was the white gold. It was the same quality, the same cost, so I thought I would go with white gold, and I think it looked better on my fingers.”
The Aggie ring is a strong symbol of the Aggie Network and allows former students to recognize each other around the world. Although Harhash will have a silver Aggie Ring, he said it does not diminish the influence it has in the working world.
“The people I have seen have still gotten jobs because of their Aggie rings,” Harhash said. “It is silver, but it is still an Aggie Ring.”