Belle Jewelers — Local services in Chambersburg

I had bought my engagement ring and wedding band from Belle Jewelers 8 years ago. I brought it there in it's original pristine packaging last week to see about having a pendant made from it. I had stored the box in a drawer in my bedroom for years, where it was never exposed to the elements and had not one scratch on it. I picked it up today and was handed back my ring in a box that looked like someone let their dog chew on it after dragging it around on the cement for good measure. The hinge on the back is completely dry rotted with no more finish, like it had been opened and closed hundreds of times. The finish is all dry rotted on the entire piece, doesn't even look like the same box- for all I know they gave me someone else's box and gave mine to a different customer. But just like the jewelry inside of it, the box has sentimental value. Just as every piece of jewelry in that store isn't actually worth a tenth of what it's being sold for, it's the symbolism and the sentiment that holds the value. I received a dismissive "it's just a box", multiple times by the owner's son (he made sure that I knew that, of which he should be ashamed as he was being a poor representation of his family's business). He tried to give me some plain velvet box, and I said no, I want one like this or at least similar. To which he looks at me and snaps "Well Im not giving you a wooden box." No one asked for a wooden box? My box was a faux leather with the jeweler's name inside, I don't want more than what I brought, I want to leave the store WHOLE. You know, when you leave something of value at a JEWELER you would expect to at least receive it back in the same condition as you left it, not completely trashed. After telling me in a very nasty tone "Ill tell you what, you buy a pendant from us and I'll give you a box," he promptly kicked me out of the store. I will never spend one cent there, which is a shame as I would rather give to a family business rather than a chain store, but I will never spend a dime at a place that treats their customers so poorly. And I will do my very best to spread the word so people know how they risk being treated- should Belle Jewelers not treat their customers property in their care properly, they will first blame another employee who wasn't present saying it was due to the rubber band they put around the box (it's far more damage beyond a mark from a rubber band), they will punish and be condescending to the customer, give them a back handed apology (along the lines of "I said Im sorry, it's just a box, what do you want me to do about it?") after chiding them and then kick them out of the store when they do not find that kind of treatment as a proper answer to the issue. Horrible experience, and if the owner's son doesn't understand sentimental value, maybe he should find a line of work that doesn't rely so heavily on it...

I have had some ups and downs but I love every piece of jewelry I get from Belle. I have to say most of the associates as well as the owner have been very helpful and accommodating when things didn't go as expected. I am very particular in the jewelry styles I will wear and the cookie cutter chain stores have little to nothing that peaks my interest. I think my biggest issue is just never being sure if what I'm told is the whole story. I was taken here to look at engagement rings and was transfixed by one that was touted as one of a kind and made by their personal jeweler. A little over 9 months later my boyfriend proposed with that very ring and I couldn't be happier. We were told that if we wanted a matching wedding band all we had to do was come in and order it when we were ready because all the custom pieces had matching bands designed and just not yet produced. Makes sense. When I called in to ask about pricing and see if I could get different colored diamonds was where everything went a bit wonky. The sales associate kept making it sound like this was a mass produced item when I was told it was one of a kind. Very confusing. Then when we finally got it into the store the finish was wrong. When I showed them that it didn't match my engagement ring at all they assured me it would be fixed by their jeweler. Unfortunately, where I thought this would be done in house I was told that they didn't have the ability to do that same finish. Confused again because I thought their jeweler had made this ring originally. I was very lucky to be ahead of the game (9 months before the big day) in ordering the ring because they did get it fixed and back in my hands well before we needed it. If I would have waited like most people I would have been the panicked bride for sure. That being said I have no regrets about my engagement ring, it's the most amazing thing I've seen to date and I will still happily return to this store for future purchases. I think every business can have their issues but in my case they did what they could to make...

If I could give 0 I would!!!!

We were told three times jewelry repairs were done on site, and even "shown" where they would be done. 18 days AFTER the work was supposed to be done, we showed up in person to check on the status--since NO ONE would return phone calls (ALL 8 OF THEM). We were told that it would be DELIVERED the next day. I was not happy to hear that. Apparently, the jeweler is "In house" but works from a second location per desire, so technically*: yes, we did see his work space in the mall, but he rarely uses it. WHAT?!?!?!?

Then only HALF the work was done. Given we just paid for what was done and left. I was not about to leave my heirloom with them for another month since they could never actually tell me with certainty where my ring was at any given time.

Most skin-crawling event: When picking up my ring, a guy walked in looking to settle his 2k+ credit account in one check. ALL FOUR sales women swarmed him, reading off the financial information including ACCOUNT NUMBERS from the OTHER SIDE OF THE STORE!!!! Yeah, we paid and left. We will be closing the bank card today because we do not feel...