Before being commissioned as officers, the whole graduating class of the Page Corps ordered similar wide-rimmed rings. The ring was to demonstrate that its owner belongs to the cream of the cream of the Russian nobility. The choice of the metals was not accidental: the pages’ motto was ‘pure as gold, hard as steel’. The steel symbolized friendship, hard as metal: pages of any year of graduation, regardless of their social standing, strived to maintain good fellowship and friendly ties thus keeping as a tightly-welded team after the end of their studies.

Graduates of different years recognized their fellows by the ring and, regardless of their rank, always treated each other on familiar terms. Those who rose to eminence patronaged their fellows, that was why Page Corps graduates often landed in high military and administrative posts in Russia. There were many ministers, diplomats, field-marshals, and public figures among them.