London: Gem Diamonds has racked-in $10.6 million from the sale of a 198 ct white diamond recovered end of July from its 70 percent-owned Letšeng mine, in Lesotho.

It said in a brief statement emailed to Rough & Polished that the Type II, D colour diamond attracted a price of $53 746/ct. “The sale of this large, high-quality white diamond demonstrates the continued robust demand for large high-quality diamonds,” said company chief executive Clifford Elphick.

The Letšeng mine was famous for the production of large, top colour, exceptional white diamonds, making it the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world.

Since Gem’s acquisition of Letšeng in 2006, the mine had produced four of the top 20 largest white gem quality diamonds recorded.