The NPD Group’s latest market research on the U.S. fragrance industry. Prestige fragrances showed robust sales of $1.6 billion in U.S. department stores, year-to-date, from January through September 2012. Men’s prestige fragrance sales grew by 7%, which is slightly faster than women’s prestige did, at 6.5%.

The growth of jewelry fragrance brands, such as Bulgari and Cartier, as well as niche fragrances, including Creed and Jo Malone, nearly tripled with a 19% growth. Designer fragrances, which accounts for nearly three-quarters of the total prestige fragrance market, grew by 7% — the same rate for the total overall market’s growth.

“The fragrance brands that are being sold in more selective distribution are experiencing explosive growth. We’ve seen this trend with high-end designer brands like Tom Ford and Jimmy Choo and this is also evident today with jewelry and niche fragrance brands,” said Karen Grant, vice president and senior global industry analyst, The NPD Group.

Grant continues, “Even though niche and jewelry brands make up only nine percent of the total prestige fragrance market they are creating a new dynamic in the larger fragrance arena. They are growing faster than any other type of fragrance in the prestige space and their combined sales are actually more than double the size of prestige celebrity fragrances.”