Compagnie Financiere Richemont, the world’s second largest luxury goods group, reported Wednesday that its jewelry sales grew 15 percent to 863.8 million euros ($1.25 million) for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2007.

Cartier saw good growth in the Asia-Pacific region and Van Cleef & Arpels reported very strong growth in all regions, the Swiss-based conglomerate said.

The Group’s specialist watchmakers saw good demand during the period, with underlying sales growth of 16 percent to 426.4 million euros ($621.3 million). The company said Piaget, IWC, and Panerai performed particularly well.

Overall the company, which also owns Montblanc and Alfred Dunhill, said it experienced strong demand for its luxury products, with underlying sales growth at 14 percent at constant exchange rates. At actual exchange rates, sales increased by 8 percent to 1.67 billion euros ($2.43 billion).

Richemont also holds a significant investment in British American Tobacco, which wasn’t included in the quarterly financial report.

JCK