Jewellery sales have surged by 250 per cent in Russia over the past few days amid the country's deepening financial crisis, a leading jeweller said yesterday in Moscow.

Jewellery prices in luxury stores rose by 40 per cent in recent weeks, while the rouble has come steadily crashing down.

The rush for jewels is reminiscent of a similar shopping spree from 1992 to 1994, when hyper-inflation pushed prices up by as much as 2,500 per cent.