The tale of De Beers, the world's largest diamond miner, illustrates the dramatic changes in the industry that are being driven primarily by demand for diamonds from China and India.

Just two years ago, diamond prices plunged and De Beers was forced to take its cap in hand and seek a billion US dollars from its shareholders. Now, sales are through the roof.

According to an article in The Times, De Beers posted record sales for the first half of this year, in what was described by a market analyst as "a schizophrenic view of the world".

The article cited Kieron Hodgson, an analyst with Charles Stanley, saying that "on the one hand, there are fears of US and European debt contagion and, on the other, the substantial growth opportunities offered by maturing Chinese and Indian companies".

Earlier this week, De Beers announced that its sales for the first six months of this year had risen by 30 per cent, to $US 3.9 billion, while pre-tax profits rose 55 per cent to $US 1.2 billion.

De Beers attributed these figures to sales in the Asian markets, as well as India and the Middle East.

Given the rapid fluctuations in the market as well as the economic difficulties still faced by the US and Europe, the outlook for the rest of the year remains uncertain.