Chinese buyers showed their economic clout in Paris Thursday at an auction of watches owned by French film idol Alain Delon, with prices going through the roof.

Auction house Cornette de Saint-Cyr told AFP that the sale brought in a total of 443,875 euros ($590,300) as collectors and fans thronged the room while many buyers, especially in China, took part by phone.

The growing power of the Chinese consumer might have the world in its thrall but it seems it won’t be too long before their lust for luxury is more satisfied a little closer to home.

Traditionally, Chinese shoppers have had to head overseas to pick up the latest fashions or other luxury items, due mainly to steep taxes on such items back home.

A recent survey by the World Luxury Association claimed that 72 percent of Chinese consumers believed that luxury goods were cheaper overseas than at home, while 69 percent of those polled traveled simply because they had a wider choice of goods available to them when they did.

Luxury Swiss retail giant Richemont, owner of such brands as Cartier, Piaget and Jaeger-LeCoultre, is to open the world’s largest shop for luxury watches in Paris.

Business Montres quoted an internal memo saying a three-storey 2,200 square metre (24,000 square foot) shop would open early 2013.

The shop would take over the premises of the landmark Old England shop near the Place Vendome, famous for its luxury watch shops and hugely popular with Middle Eastern and Asian tourists, in particular Chinese.

Mainland luxury Chinese consumers are becoming increasingly open to shopping for, and finding information about, luxury brands online with news portals.

Weibo is one of the most popular sources for information, according to the results of a survey released November 28 by PR group Ruder Finn Asia.

The survey was conducted among 1057 Mainland Chinese luxury shoppers by Ruder Finn Asia as part of its China Luxury Forecast.

The Swiss watch industry is in rude health with exports leaping once again last month and watchmakers set to notch up a record year thanks to Chinese consumers

Despite the the effect of the global debt crisis, the demand for Swiss watches hit a peak in October, putting smiles on the faces of the country’s 600 watchmakers.

Data from the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) showed exports rose to 1.9 billion Swiss francs ($2.0 billion), up 18.6 percent on the same month last year.

The luxury sector is set to post double-digit growth this year to 191 billion euros driven by the appetite of Chinese consumers for top-quality goods, according to a study by Bain & Company released on Monday.

While “the global economic situation is difficult” the luxury sector “is in good health and is growing above all in Asian markets,” said Santo Versace, head of the Italian fashion house and the Altagamma Foundation of Italian luxury companies.

The growth forecast was revised up to 10 percent from 8 percent, but still falls short of the 13-percent growth the sector recorded last year.