The Group has delivered what one analyst called a “flabbergasting” quarter, with jewellery sales at Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels far outpacing forecasts across two regions.

Richemont’s first quarter sales rose by 20% in constant currencies to US$7.24 billion (€6.33 billion), comfortably ahead of the US$6.7 billion (€5.90 billion) analysts had pencilled in according to a Visible Alpha consensus. Analysts at Bank Vontobel called the result “flabbergasting,” a margin they said exceeded even bullish estimates.

The group’s four Jewellery Maisons, Buccellati, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Vhernier, posted a remarkable combined 24% rise in constant-currency sales, marking a seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit growth that continues to bear out why hard luxury’s buyers increasingly behave more like custodians of an asset than consumers of a product. Specialist Watchmakers, weaker in recent periods, were up 8% and improving sequentially, while the group’s fashion and accessories arm, home to Chloé, Dunhill and Montblanc, rose 9%.

Regionally, the Americas posted a 27% sales increase, Asia Pacific rose 21% and Japan grew 36%, extending a geographic rebalancing away from the West’s aspirational spender and toward markets where luxury sits closer to wealth preservation than fashion cycle. The Middle East shrugged off disruptions caused by the Iran conflict to see sales return to growth as local customers offset a drop in tourist spending, Richemont said.

Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Jon Cox attributed part of the strength to buyers wanting products with intrinsic value, with their buying supported by AI-enabled wealth creation. The result sent Richemont’s shares 6% higher in early trading, while the Stoxx European Luxury 10 index, which includes LVMH and Hermès, rose 2.5%.