• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, April 18, 2011

Luxury-lovers are shopping again, with LVMH reporting a 17% jump in revenues to 5.2 billion Euros in the first quarter of this year, or about $7.2 billion. Building on a sales pickup that started in the final quarter of last year, the Paris-based luxury conglomerate says it is seeing increases in the U.S., Europe and Asia, and that all its business groups recorded double-digit sales gains for the three-month period.

Watches and jewelry showed the biggest jump, with revenues climbing 20% in organic growth. Earlier this year, the company formed a strategic alliance with Bulgari, and says it made gains via its TAG Heuer line, which strengthened its Carrera collection; Zenith, Hublot, and Chaumet. It also says its De Beers made significant progress in both Asia and the U.S.

In the wines and spirits division, sales rose 17%, with Champagne volumes climbing 8% and Hennessy cognac volumes increasing 16%.