As the diamond industry continues to recover from the global financial crisis that sent prices into a tailspin, Canada's Rockwell Diamonds has seen a 73% increase in the per-carat price for its diamonds, the company reports.

The first half of 2010 saw sales of 14,168 carats with an average per-carat price of $1,243, compared to the average $718 per-carat price in the corresponding period of 2009.

Rockwell CFO Gerhard Jacobs said that while he wasn't overly confident that the company would be able to keep up such high sales returns, there "was definitely still a strong demand for diamonds."

Jacobs also noted that the company's colored diamonds were also proving attractive: "We have pink and yellow stones that buyers have been taking a big interest in," he said.

In addition to the leap in its diamond prices, Rockwell's revenue for H1 2010 nearly doubled, reaching $19 million, compared to some $9.5 million in the corresponding period in 2009.