Diamond producer Rockwell Diamonds says that it is “cautiously optimistic” about the diamond market and price trends.

Mining Weekly quotes Rockwell’s CEO John Bristow: “We have seen encouraging signs of improvement in demand and sales in the past six month period, and remain cautiously optimistic ahead of the Christmas season.”

However, he also noted that although there has been an increased uptake of diamonds in the market, existing stocks remained high due to shrunken US imports of polished diamonds, flat US sales, and destocking on the part of the US diamond jewelry retail trade.

The good news is that demand for diamond jewelry is flourishing in China and India, and the rest of Asia is resilient.

Although diamond prices have risen since March, the prices are still below the average 2008 prices.

Bristow told Mining Weekly: “In terms of retail, Rockwell has seen improvement in prices in two to ten carat rough diamond range with greater increases in the two to five carat stones. Prices are spotty and poorer quality goods remains depressed, and trade is still slow in large diamonds above ten carats, though good quality white stone has attracted buyers.”

During the third quarter, which ended in August, the average diamond price received by Rockwell increased by 54%, to $855 per carat, up from $555 per carat in the three months before that.