Totally true I think about the price of diamonds being a fraud. Copper tourmaline is more rare than diamonds, and this venture has been quite fun
I had to turn down the orange copper bearing tourmaline
Under further inspection and more pictures I discovered there is a small crack. You can actually see it in the picture I posted near the bottom right. Not exactly what I would call VVS clarity ( eye clean with flaws only showing under magnification ) I could live with a small VVS type scratch or flaw, but no way for cracks or chips.
I think I might have found a light purple, copper bearing, huge 9.3 carat, pear shaped tourmaline. It's got a couple very tiny surface scratches, but they are quite tiny and I am confident they would not be noticeable, a real VVS so to speak. It's quite stunning but the price is quite high. I will consider it but keep looking. I must be picky because this is my wife's wedding ring.
On the flip side, my colour changing 5.7 carat tourmaline should be coming any day now. That's the one I'm using for my own ring.