Radiant is the most common shape for colours - light path in a radiant is generally very long, so any body colour is intensified. For the same - but opposite - reason, rounds are popular for colourless: light path is short.

Thanks guys.  I figure I'll just tell the story.

I went to one store to look at what they offered since they claim to be specializing in colored diamonds now.  They had a bunch out compared to your average store though I'd say at least half were color enhanced.  You know the really bright blues and greens that just don't look quite right.

I told them I wanted at least a half a carat up to a full eye clean radiant in a soft yellow or brown color.  Yellow was my first choice, but I really also like a lot of honey colored stones as well.  I wasn't looking for bright bright yellows or very dark brown since I am more of a subdued person.  So they looked at what they had in stock and only had a FLY 1.03 carat cushion they wanted for more than double my budget and set in a very flimsy looking setting.  I'm talking 1mm or so thick with just four prongs.

Anyway, she took my information and told me she'd call.  (yep this is from the other story).  She finally called back and told me that they had no luck in finding anything.

Now what struck me as odd was that she said they had a lot of round brilliants in the colors, but no radiants.  Said that if I wanted a RB they could definitely hook me up with one as they are very easy to find.

Obviously it didn't matter to me since I was looking at the new shiny as she was telling me this, but I thought I had heard that RB were harder to find in most colors.

I sort of wonder if she was going to try to sell me an enhanced stone by saying what I wanted was impossible to find.

Big jump in conclusions on my part I know.  So that's why I asked.

I am a shopper and I like to research before I buy.  I had a good idea what I could find and for what cost even with certain mark ups.  So I find it hard to believe they couldn't find at least a 1/2 carat radiant in what I wanted.   I think their mark up was either too high, or they were trying to make money by selling an enhanced stone.

I am a straight shooter and while I disliked the store for not calling, it is really unforgivable to lie to me.  And for some reason I get the feeling I am being lied to by them somehow.

I used to use these guys for semi-precious gem buys and some sterling, but now I have this creepy feeling about them.  Considering I am still young enough that a lot of my friends are getting engaged and married, it's probably not wise to have me tell bad stories about other jewelry places because I talk a lot LOL (and what little I do wear, my friends usually admire... boy I can't wait to show them the new one in the next few days)  And since I like jewelry and try to learn as much as possible, quite a few have come to me for recommendations.  Fortunately I've never sent someone that way and stuck to the very small store that made my small studs for me for custom work when asked.

Now you know why I e-mailed you right away after that weekend of looking locally    Okay honestly you were going to be e-mailed or called on Monday, but I needed to see some stone shapes in person before I decided.  That's mostly why I went out.  I was curious if a store could come up with something I might want to look at, but I admit I wasn't very hopeful.  I was pretty certain no one would have one on hand for me to look at, and I was right.  But there was no doubt in my mind that you wouldn't be able to find something I would like since I've been eyeing your store for a long time now!

The more I think about the two conversations I had with her, the more I do think she wanted an easy fix by giving me an irridated stone instead of keeping on looking.

At the store she was big on how since they are family owned, they are in contact with many cutters and they were sure they could find something.  If not there is a show in Las Vegas soon (am I right?) and if needed she knew she could find it there.  If she wasn't quick to make a sale why would she change the story?

I have to say this is disappointing to realize.  I'm a loyal gal when it comes to things like this.  It makes me never want to go in their store again, and likely I won't.  I really don't like people who try to play me.

I'm rambling, but I really appreciate the answer to this question. 

I'm just wondering - when people talk about "soft yellow" they may mean anything from K-L to FLY. Now, David, please correct me if I'm wrong, but K-L rounds are rather common indeed (and probably quite common through to O-P), whereas radiants in those colours may actually be not that easy to find.

It may depend on what clgwli asked them to find, and what they understood she wanted. Most dealers will expect people to ask about whites, rather than coloured, and their expectations may be coloured (!) by that fact.

Again - not trying to defend anyone, but just seeking to find an explanation for what is a rather curious behaviour. After all, if they intended to sell you a treated stone, they would know that the lab report would state it's treated. And I suspect that there are relatively few colour enhanced stones in "soft yellow". Generally neutrons create rather lurid effects!

Ugh. What an unpleasant experience. Trust is such an important part of buying jewellery, because jewellery becomes so personal. I don't blame you for not wanting to go back.

If you are feeling a bit guilty about cutting them off though, it won't hurt to go and have a look at what she's offering, and talk a bit about it. You'd be able to get a more definite impression, and then you'd be in a better position to make a decision, one way or the other, and not have to feel guilty or sad about it, because you'll know you're doing the 'right' thing for you.

Just a little update.  I called the store and talked to one of the ladies "D" I spoke with a few weeks ago.  She tried to look up my name since they keep a file of things like this, and couldn't find anything.  The sales person "B" who had called me back yesterday was in but with a customer.  I heard "B" in the background (very unique voice and accent for this region).  I was told I'd get a call right back since "D" found nothing at all.  Not even the request slip that they filled out.

Yesterday's call to me was a voice mail so everything "B" told me about the what she found (or didn't find) was in a message.  I am not sure why my request wasn't still there unless she tossed it already. 

So unless she does call back I doubt I will ever know what she did want to show me, if anything at all.  I'm really doubting that she will ever call back since that about 8 hours ago.

Again I do appreciate this discussion.  While I know they weren't going to get a sale, this really does affect my choices for other purchases in the future.

I wonder if she was not able to find you anything once she actually started looking and had to back peddle.    Strange indeed.  The last time I was in AZ, not one store had anything lower than an L- and there was only 1 to view.  

Here there are only a couple high end stores that even carry coloured diamonds and few that are loose.  Most seem to be branded (Greg Ruth for example) items.  A few I have looked at were not well priced and I when I asked if they were natural I was advised that all yellow stones likely had some sort of enhancement.    This was a non-branded "custom" 20K+ ring, so I expected a more knowledgeable answer.

The same kind of thing happened while looking for my brown RB, I was assured they could find something.  It turned out that they couldn't.  Not eyeclean and not in the colour range and not within budget.  This became my first DBL purchase.