Lee Read Diamonds — Attraction in Meridian

Shameful customer service! When I arrived, I was greeted by an employee who asked if she could help me (nice). I told her I just wanted a few pieces of jewelry cleaned and respectfully stated that I remembered there was a limit to how many pieces they would do, so I asked if I could pay for the others. She said the employees in that area could answer that question and directed me to stand there to await further assistance. I stood there for 10 to 15 minutes despite only a handful of customers in the store. Finally, I was acknowledged with, "I'll be with you in a minute." Once I was called over, I asked again about the limit for jewelry cleaning because I wanted to choose only the pieces that I most wanted professionally cleaned, based on the cost. But this employee proceeded to lay out and inventory all of my items. She suggested I purchase an application of a product called rhodium for my three-piece white gold custom Burmese ruby ring. I declined because I am not familiar with it. She then asked another employee, "Aldon," about the limit of items for cleaning. Aldon told her he only allows 3 to 5 pieces. I reminded Aldon that he was the one who helped me before, and he was also the one who told me there was a limit to how many pieces they would clean, but the last time, he had allowed a lot more than just 3 to 5 pieces. Now, my three-piece ring alone would have been about all they would do, and then he added that I should purchase the rhodium for the ring. He said he would charge me $22 to clean each extra item! (The total would have been about $300 - TO CLEAN JEWELRY!) I haven't been in to request professional jewelry cleaning for over a year. (Now I know why)... So, here's what Aldon doesn't get... It may not be today that I want to buy that $1200 necklace, or that $1500 bracelet, or design a custom piece with the sapphire and extra diamonds I have, but if you treat me well, you'll have my business. Taking good care of customers keeps them coming back, and it is quite likely that while you are courteously cleaning some of my jewelry, I'll be looking around the store and see something I want to purchase. But not today. Today, I picked everything up and left. Previously, my husband had lost his wedding band, and we bought a new one from Lee Read. On that occasion, we were treated like family. But not today. Today, thanks to Aldon - Lee Read Diamonds will NEVER get my business again! My advice: take your business...

My story is a two-parter. 😄 Part 1: In addition to my diamond falling out of my engagement ring and not being able to find it, I had to have my ring cut off because it had become too tight to get off myself. My diamond was gone, my ring was in pieces, and I was super upset. Enter the “diamond doctor”, Sung. I picked out my diamond and he took my ring in all the pieces and made it look brand new! Amazing, beautiful work that brought tears to my eyes! Part 2: Not long after I got my ring back, I noticed a flaw in the diamond that I hadn’t noticed when I picked it. I was hoping I would overlook it over time and it wouldn’t be a big deal. However, every time I looked at my ring, that’s all I saw. And it was driving me nuts! So, I contacted Lee Read and chatted with Rebecca. Even though it had been 2 months since I got my new diamond (well past the return/exchange time frame policy), she told me to come in and look at some different options to make an exchange. So, I did just that. She showed me several options, this time I made sure to look at it in dimmer lighting rather than just under direct light (which is why I think I didn’t notice the flaw), as well as taking them outside to look at them in the sunlight and in the shade. I picked a beautiful diamond that reminded me a lot of the original one I had lost. It was more expensive, which I figured it would be, but I was able to put the full amount for the previous one towards the new one. AND she didn’t charge me for labor, which would have been another $200+. She was SO helpful and kind and I really enjoyed working with her. In addition to her helpfulness, I had my 10 year old daughter with me, an she was VERY engaging with her. They were chatting the whole time while I was focused on picking a diamond. My daughter commented how much she liked Rebecca when we left. It was an amazing experience and I really appreciate all Rebecca did. I’m SO in love with my ring!...

My wife and I purchased her wedding ring from Lee Read back in 1999. Sadly, while vacationing in the Bahamas in 2022, her ring was stolen. She was devastated. For over a year, she searched for a replacement, but nothing felt right, nothing compared to the original.

I decided to reach out to Lee Read to see if there was any way to have the ring remade. I still had the original appraisal with all the diamond specs, and I spent hours going through 24 years of photos, zooming in on any that showed her ring finger. Amanda responded to my message and went above and beyond. With just those blurry photos and the appraisal, she helped recreate the ring with the same diamond size, clarity, and design, down to the smallest details.

For our 25th anniversary, we traveled back to the Boise area so I could surprise my wife. Amanda greeted us at the door, pretending not to know who I was. She listened kindly to my wife’s story and casually helped her browse the store. Little did my wife know, the replica was already in a nearby display case. As soon as she saw it, she froze. She recognized it immediately. Before Amanda could even hand it to her, my wife was in tears. And when she realized it was perfectly sized for her finger, the emotions overflowed. It was one of the most meaningful moments of our lives.

I cannot thank Amanda and the entire Lee Read team enough for helping me bring this ring and this moment back to life. Even though we now live five hours away, we will forever be Lee Read customers. This experience reminded us why we’ve trusted them for over two decades. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, Amanda, for all your help and patience with me throughout this process. My wife has even said she loves the new ring more than...