[Jamo]

raclaims...not wrong per se, but for what you're presumably looking for, I'm not sure everyone's favorite neighborhood jewelry store is the way to go, unless I overshot your expectations for quality and color.

Seems to me, you need someone in the bizness...hop on over to the City and find a broker. Pay a commission and get educated.

When you get that big, and are looking for near internal flawless and excellent color, you're not so much looking for a deal as you are making damn sure the stone matches the grade. Also, what cut are you interested in? Again, with a stone that size, certain cuts become unmanageable for mountings (obviously rings have different considerations than say a necklace), and in fact, can hurt the value of the stone. Square cuts are an expected commodity, for example.

If you don't want to go the broker route, then stay safe when looking for something that significant. If it was me, I would go to one of the big houses...Tiffany's, Winston, van Clef...even DeBeers or Mikimoto, etc. They are used to handling stones at that level at some volume. At least visit a big house and get educated.