This will be the 14th ceremony at the Warwick, R.I., precious metals refinery

Pease & Curren, the Warwick, R.I., precious metals refinery, will host the West Point Association of Graduates’ 16th annual Ring Melt Ceremony on Feb 22.

This year’s ceremony will be the 14^th hosted by Pease & Curren. The annual ceremony melts the class rings of West Point alumni into a gold bar, which is then incorporated into the class rings of that year’s graduates. This year’s ceremony will melt the rings of 54 alumni from classes 1914 to 1984. The melted gold from the rings will be incorporated into rings for West Point’s class of 2017.

A sample of this year’s melt, and each year’s, is held back to be incorporated into the next year’s melt to ensure all rings from the inaugural ceremony are included.

Families of 23 of the ring donors will be on hand for the ceremony.

“The annual Ring Melt is a tangible way to reaffirm the bond between today’s cadets and their distinguished predecessors,” according to a statement from Pease & Curren.

(Photo courtesy of Pease & Curren)

JCK