Herff Jones
Herff Jones, founded in 1920 and headquartered in Indianapolis, is a leading US provider of custom class rings, caps and gowns, diploma frames, and graduation products, selling through school-based representatives and direct-to-consumer e-commerce to high schools, colleges, Greek organizations, and families.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1920
- HeadquartersIndianapolis, United States
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Herff Jones does
Herff Jones, Inc., founded in 1920 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a leading US provider of customized graduation and educational products sold primarily through schools as institutional buyers. Its core offerings span custom class rings and jewelry, caps and gowns (both ClassRental and ClassKeeper), graduation announcements and accessories, diploma frames (via the Framing Success division), achievement/letterman jackets, yearbooks and custom photo products, medical pins, and Greek-letter jewelry for sororities and fraternities. Each product is personalized with the purchasing school's seal, crest, colors, and mascot, supported by a customization library covering thousands of US institutions and a Full Lifetime Warranty on class rings covering repair, resizing, stone replacement, and finish restoration.
The company operates a sales-led go-to-market in which over 2,000 employees and sales partners visit schools multiple times per senior year to take orders, capture measurements, and deliver products, supplemented by dedicated direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefronts for high school, college, Greek, cheer, and framing customers. Revenue is generated through one-time purchases tied to graduation milestones, with secondary lifetime value economics from the college-ring trade-in program (gold reclamation at market prices) and warranty-driven retention. Herff Jones also operates the One Frame, One Tree sustainability initiative in partnership with Trees for the Future, having planted over one million trees through diploma frame sales.
Herff Jones is a division of Varsity Brands and competes principally with Jostens and Balfour in the North American-dominant College Convocation Dress sector, projected at $1.3B in 2025 growing to $2.8B by 2032 at 8.6% CAGR. Customer segments span high school and college students, families, Greek organizations, healthcare education programs, and the schools and school districts that select Herff Jones as their official supplier, making it a mass-market B2B2C platform rather than an enterprise-software business.
Herff Jones firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Herff Jones
- Legal name
- Herff Jones, Inc.
- Website
- https://herffjones.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1920
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- Herff Jones, founded in 1920 and headquartered in Indianapolis, is a leading US provider of custom class rings, caps and gowns, diploma frames, and graduation products, selling through school-based representatives and direct-to-consumer e-commerce to high schools, colleges, Greek organizations, and families.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Herff Jones industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Graduation Products & Academic Regalia
- NAICS
- Jewelry and Silverware Manufacturing (33991), Jewelry, Luggage, and Leather Goods Retailers (4583)
- SIC
- Costume Jewelry & Novelties (3960), Apparel & Other Finishd Prods Of Fabrics & Similar Matl (2300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- School Uniforms (Children) (CRAAAHAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Team & School Athletic Uniforms Retail (CRAMACAJ), Uniforms & Workwear Specialty Department Stores (CRAGAGAH)
Keywords
Where Herff Jones is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Indianapolis
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices8 records
Markets served
Herff Jones business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Class Rings and Jewelry: Custom class rings designed for high school and college students with school-specific customization. Includes high school jewelry, college rings, Greek jewelry for sororities and fraternities, and cheer jewelry. One-time purchase model.
- Graduation Regalia and Apparel: Caps and gowns, announcements, thank you notes, class apparel. Products include Custom Rental gowns and Custom Keeper gowns for commencement ceremonies. One-time purchases tied to graduation events.
- Diploma Frames: Diploma frames sold through Framing Success division. Each frame purchase plants a tree through Trees for the Future partnership.
- Achievement Jackets: Custom letterman jackets featuring school colors, letters, mascots, and achievement patches. Made from Melton Wool with customizable options.
- Yearbooks and Photo Products: Yearbook publishing services and custom photo products for capturing school memories.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | Class ring trade-in program for college rings |
| Other | One time/ perpetual license | Full Lifetime Warranty coverage |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Herff Jones product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Herff Jones manufactures and sells customized graduation and educational products, including class rings, caps and gowns, graduation announcements, diploma frames, achievement jackets, and Greek organization jewelry. Products are customized with each school's official seal, crest, colors, and mascot, and sold through a nationwide network of in-school sales representatives and dedicated e-commerce sites targeting high school and college students and their families.
Product overview
Herff Jones is a leading provider of graduation and educational products and services operating as a division of Varsity Brands. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of graduation essentials including custom class rings and jewelry (with sub-brands for high school, college, and Greek markets), caps and gowns (ClassRental and ClassKeeper custom options), graduation announcements and accessories, diploma frames through Framing Success, achievement jackets/letterman jackets, medical pins, custom photo products, and digital tools like HJ SmartShare and StageClip. Products are sold through school-specific e-commerce sites and feature extensive personalization options reflecting individual school traditions, colors, and mascots. The company has operated for over 99 years with a network of over 2,000 employees and sales partners across the United States.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Framing Success: Diploma frames division of Herff Jones with sustainability partnership planting trees for each frame sold.
- HJ Greek
- Champ Rings
- Celestial Collection
Products and services
- Class Rings and Jewelry Custom-made class rings and jewelry for high school and college students, featuring hundreds of designs and personalization options including the Celestial Collection and Champ Rings lines.
- Caps & Gowns Graduation caps and gowns available as custom rental (ClassRental) and custom keeper (ClassKeeper) options, designed with school-specific colors, crests, and insignias for high school and college commencement ceremonies.
- Graduation Announcements & Accessories Custom graduation announcements featuring school seals, crests, and official graduation ceremony information, along with thank you notes and namecards.
- Diploma Frames Diploma frames sold through the Framing Success division, with each purchase planting one tree through the Trees for the Future partnership.
- Achievement Jackets (Letterman Jackets) Custom letterman jackets made with heavyweight Melton Wool (80% wool/20% nylon), featuring heavy-duty snaps, over 300 patch designs, and available in official school colors with school letters and mascots.
- College Rings (Shop) Dedicated e-commerce site (collegerings.herffjones.com) for college ring products, allowing students to search for their college and customize rings reflecting school traditions.
- Greek Jewelry (HJ Greek) Official provider of sorority and fraternity jewelry including pins, badges, chapter guards, and Greek accessory jewelry sold through hjgreek.com.
- Cheer Jewelry (Team Jewelry) Cheerleading jewelry and accessories sold through teamjewelry.com.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 1 million trees planted through Trees for the Future partnership
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Herff Jones
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Herff Jones technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Herff Jones partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Trees for the FuturecoreHerff Jones and Framing Success partner with Trees for the Future to plant one tree for every diploma frame sold. Trees for the Future is a nonprofit organization that has planted over 187 million trees worldwide since 1989. The partnership supports environmental sustainability while allowing customers to feel pride in giving back. Trees benefit local communities with food, fuel, and building materials.
- Framing SuccesscoreFraming Success is a division of Herff Jones that specializes in diploma frames. It has been a long-time sponsor of Trees for the Future and manages the One Frame, One Tree program. Framing Success operates as a separate brand under the Herff Jones umbrella.
- Schools and School DistrictscoreHerff Jones partners with schools as the 'official supplier' of graduation products. Schools select Herff Jones to provide class rings, caps and gowns, announcements, and other products customized with school identity. This creates exclusive relationships where Herff Jones becomes the designated provider for each institution.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Herff Jones competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- James Avery Artisan Jewelry: James Avery is a vertically integrated jewelry retailer/manufacturer with strong personalization and charm offerings, comparable to Herff Jones' core capability of producing customized, designable jewelry products.
- Signet Jewelers: Signet Jewelers operates retail banners (Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared) that sell fine and personalized jewelry, including items frequently purchased as graduation gifts. Broader jewelry retail overlap with Herff Jones' gift-jewelry positioning.
- Pandora: Pandora is a global branded jewelry retailer with charm and personalized jewelry offerings that overlap with the gift/keepsake jewelry positioning of Herff Jones' college and high school jewelry lines.
- Kendra Scott: Kendra Scott is a jewelry and personalized accessories brand whose color-customizable design language and college-campus marketing overlap with Herff Jones' younger demographic and personalization-led positioning.
Direct peers
- Jostens: Jostens is the largest direct competitor to Herff Jones, offering class rings, graduation caps and gowns, yearbooks, and personalized graduation products through exclusive school partnerships in the U.S. and Canada. Both companies compete head-to-head for 'official supplier' contracts with high schools and colleges.
- Balfour: Balfour is a long-standing direct competitor in class rings and graduation products, including yearbooks and school memorabilia. It competes with Herff Jones for exclusive multi-year school contracts and serves a similar student/family customer base.
- ArtCarved: ArtCarved is a heritage class ring and graduation jewelry brand now operating under Herff Jones, offering direct competition in the same custom class ring category prior to integration. Comparable as a direct peer in class ring design and school distribution.
- CLC/Gateway (now Jostens): Historically an apparel-focused graduation regalia competitor to Herff Jones, now merged into Jostens. The original CLC/Gateway line competed with Herff Jones' caps and gowns and class apparel categories.
Emerging players
- Etsy: Etsy is an online marketplace where independent artisans sell personalized and custom jewelry/keepsakes, providing a digital-native alternative that competes for graduation gift and self-purchase jewelry dollars.
- Graduation Source: Graduation Source is a smaller online-focused retailer of caps, gowns, and graduation accessories that competes with Herff Jones' caps and gowns and graduation accessories lines, particularly on price-sensitive online orders.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Herff Jones social profiles
Digital presenceHerff Jones financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Herff Jones leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Herff Jones subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Herff Jones funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Herff Jones M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments2 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Herff Jones
What does Herff Jones do?
Herff Jones manufactures and sells customized graduation and educational products, including class rings, caps and gowns, graduation announcements, diploma frames, achievement jackets, and Greek organization jewelry. Products are customized with each school's official seal, crest, colors, and mascot, and sold through a nationwide network of in-school sales representatives and dedicated e-commerce sites targeting high school and college students and their families.
Is Herff Jones a public or private company?
Herff Jones is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Herff Jones founded?
Herff Jones was founded in 1920. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Herff Jones based?
Herff Jones is headquartered in Indianapolis, United States, in the North America region.
How does Herff Jones make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Class Rings and Jewelry is the primary driver. The others are graduation Regalia and Apparel, diploma Frames, achievement Jackets and yearbooks and Photo Products.
Who are Herff Jones's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are James Avery Artisan Jewelry, Signet Jewelers, Pandora and Kendra Scott. Direct peers are Jostens, Balfour, ArtCarved and CLC/Gateway (now Jostens). Emerging players are Etsy and Graduation Source.
Does Herff Jones have an API?
No public API is recorded for Herff Jones.
What industry is Herff Jones in?
Herff Jones's product category is Graduation Products & Academic Regalia. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAAAHAE, School Uniforms (Children), with a secondary code of CRAMACAJ, Team & School Athletic Uniforms Retail. Its NAICS code is 33991 and its SIC code is 3960.