LVMH Mo�t Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the French luxury group, reported that its watch and jewellery sales rose by 20 per cent to $258 million (�189 million) during the first quarter of 2007.

Jewellery and watches accounted for 5 per cent of the group�s overall sales.

LVMH said Chaumet benefited from the success of its jewellery collection Attrape-moi. Montres Dior�s Christal jewellery line that was launched at the Baselworld trade fair was very well-received, it added.

Overall group sales increased by 7 per cent to $5.1 billion (�3.8 billion) as all business groups recorded double-digit organic revenue growth in the period. The US, Asia and Europe performed particularly well due to continued high demand from both local clients and tourists, the firm said.