In the first quarter of 2010, Gem Diamonds achieved sales worth $42.9 million, indicating an 11 percent rise, reports say. The company sold 47,754 carats of roughs indicating a 73.3 percent drop in volume terms, but at a 315.9 percent rise in value, as the average price of roughs sold amounted to $898.35 per carat, reports say. %% Sales at the company’s Letseng mine in Lesotho reflected 20 percent increase to $27.1 million, with the average rough price rising 72 percent to $1,753 per carat, as compared to the same quarter last year. In terms of volume of sales at Letseng, it dipped 30 percent to 15,468 carats, reports add. %% Sales at the company’s Ellendale mine in Australia dropped 2 percent to $15.8 million, with the average rough prices indicating a 379 percent upswing to $489 per carat. Although in terms of volume, sales dipped 79 percent to 32,286 carats. %% At the end of the said three months, the company’s cash holdings were $88.5 million with nil debt, reports say.