Back in 1981 I was in High School and a Culinary Arts Major and food presentation was a very important to our grade and I was SO impressed with the pictures I had seen in the papers as well as the photo's on the news, The White House China that cost $200,000, $200,000.00 for China WOW! {money well spent as far as I was concerned} people were spazzing out over the price, even though it didn't cost the tax payers any money it was paid for by a trust I believe. After I saw all of the detailing that went into the design I was blown away and said to myself how lucky the Chef was to work with such beauty. To be able to plate my food on such a work of art, what dished are going to work well with the bone china? how will the red affect the look of the food? what can I make that will POP! with this china? If the day ever came I would love to have at least one place setting of this china for myself and be happy and then a few years ago I noticed that the pattern was available and planned on getting service for six about 5 years ago and then life happened and I needed to put things on hold. Now 35 years after I first saw the Reagan Service I now have Embassy, I received my first three place settings a few days ago (splitting the order in two) and after laying it out on my glass dining room table I was in love (I don't like putting table cloths on glass tables because people don't think what's underneath and may SLAM something down on the table thinking it's wood, but I do use runners) This is going to look Stunning on a crisp White table cloth, a Red table cloth with a nice sheen, or a nice Gold table cloth (I'll get all three colors in runners until I move next year and replace the dining room table with a wood one). The china is lighter than I expected and the gold is flush with the plate (the WH China the gold is raised) which I'm fine with, the Red is SO unique and SO even toned throughout the pattern and with this being such a rich red I'm sure it's a hard thing to do...SO thank you for the great quality. I plan on having a small dinner soon for my closest friends and I'm already thinking all the questions that White House Chef was thinking 35 years ago "What am I going to cook? how will it work with the china? Do I go with a rich sauce? the fact that this is dishwasher safe is a plus but I'll probably hand wash in the beginning. I've already posted photo's on my Facebook page and everyone is in love with "the Red" I'll slowly add more and more pieces from the collection I should be receiving the 9" accent plate before the week is out, I love that crosshatching overlay on this plate (I wish it was done on the Dinner plate but that would be too much like the white house service). Overall I'm beyond happy with the service and I also love the fact that this is going to work so well with other Lenox design like Independence and Lowell I'll be able to extend the size of my dinner parties and have three different designs, service for up to 18 without having to commit to one design. Thanks for releasing most of the White House designs to the public, you've helped take my home up to that next level.Seller was magnificent quality is excellent and I will buy more settings from this companyGorgeous china, made in U.S. Arrived in fine shape. The manufacturer's box is designed to really hold the china in place during shipment and highly contributes to why it arrives safely. Amazon shipped on time, as usual, no problems. Sets a beautiful table and should you have the Lenox holiday pattern also, it's goes perfectly with that holly pattern. The red berries on the Holiday pattern are the exact red used for this Embassy pattern. Very elegant.I totally fell in love with this china by lenox. I love the price at amazon and I am very please with this item. I am going to order 8 more plates, and I am looking forward for the holidays (with this lenox embassy china).This china is absolutely beautiful and we now have 12 place settings. We are very pleased with it. It arrived very well protected and on time.very classyTo get the obvious out of the way first: This place setting is gorgeous.In real life the red is bold, the gold is classy and the entire place setting exudes refinement and sophistication. Easily the nicest dishware I've ever owned. My husband jokes that if the President were to ever visit our home, we've got the dishware to serve him/her! If you're fortunate enough to have a whole set of these (4-12 place settings) your table will be the envy of all your guests.For the price, this dishware is meant to be displayed, possibility even passed down through the generations as an heirloom. So with that in mind, here is where I get a little nit picky. If you get this, you are shelling out some major money. Is it worth it? First, the box (and the stamp on the bottom) says it is fine bone china but it's not translucent. I thought fine bone china was normally translucent? Also, from the product photos, I thought the band of red and gold would go all around on the cup, but it actually doesn't. It ends right where the handle is, and I thought that looked a bit strange. Also, and I'm sure this is a product of it being hand made, but there was a scratch on mine at the handle of the cup. This scratch looks to have been made by the manufacturer. I've included photos so you can see what I am talking about. There were other places where the gold is missing but as I said before, these things are nit picky things. You really don't notice unless you look hard, but at this price point, some people want perfection so I've noted the nit picky things for their benefit.Despite those minor things, this place setting is still gorgeous. Each piece is hand made, hand numbered and made in the USA. Because this set is red, I feel like you won't need a separate holiday set; this would do for any time of the year. Also, this set is attractive without being too feminine or masculine. It's definitely rare that both my husband and I agree that something look good and we were both blown away by this. Although Lenox has some beautiful place settings that are more affordable and a better value, I still think this set is unique in it's beauty and boldness. I would recommend it, especially if you can get a great deal.