Richemont is ticking along nicely as the super-wealthy keep on spending

Expensive watches and jewellery such as the £13,000 Altiplano watch have helped Swiss luxury goods group Richemont increase sales by 24% in the last quarter.

The luxury goods sector remains one of the strongest sectors globally as the super-wealthy keep spending in the face of wider economic turmoil.

Sales for the three months to the end of December rose to 2.6 billion (£2.1 billion) from
2.11 billion a year earlier, beating analysts' expectations.

Johann Rupert, executive chairman and group chief executive officer, said: "The group's overall performance remains solid.

"Operating profit for the full year will be significantly higher than last year."

Richemont, which owns some of the biggest jewellery and watch brands including Cartier,
Jaeger LeCoultre and Piaget, said growth was solid across all regions with Asia-Pacific
the strongest.

Sales growth in Europe benefited from what experts have dubbed TLC - the "travelling luxury consumer". Its online designer outlet net-a-porter.com also performed well.

However, some experts have pointed to a slowdown in growth as a sign that the sparkle of the sector could begin to tarnish.

Rupert said: "As expected, the slowdown in sales growth relative to the first six months of the year reflects the volatile and challenging economic environment."

Tiffany, the US jewellery specialist, has also reported signs of slower growth for 2012.