Fine jeweler Buccellati feels pinch in the U.S

By Astrid Wendlandt

PARIS (Reuters) - Buccellati, the Italian fine jewelry house favored by monarchs and movie stars, is feeling the pinch from the U.S. economic downturn but demand for high-end items remains strong.

"We have seen a drop in sales for less expensive jewelry in the United States but our long-standing well-heeled customers do not seem to be affected by the crisis at all," Maria Cristina Buccellati, head of communication, told Reuters in an interview.

"The crisis has been going on for more than eight months but we are only now starting to feel the difference and mainly in the United States," she said.

The Milan jeweler, one the last family-owned in Europe, is the latest luxury goods company to warn of tough trading in the United States, echoing similar comments from Italy's Bulgari (BULG.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Switzerland's Richemont (CFR.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

But the luxury goods sector, which had remained largely unaffected by the global consumer spending crisis until this spring, continues to enjoy stellar growth in countries such as Russia, China and India.

Buccellati said sales of rings and necklaces priced between 10,000 euros ($15,880) and 30,000 euros had slowed in the United States but jewelry items priced above 100,000 euros continued to fly off their velvet displays at the usual pace.

Buccellati's remarks come after Richemont said this spring it expected weaker sales in the United States and low-end products to be more affected than high-end items.

Buccellati, whose cascades of gems can fetch more than $1 million, will show a retrospective of its work in the 16th-Century Assumption Belfry in Moscow's Kremlin from September 25 to January 10.