Tiffany & Co raised its full-year profit outlook on the expectation that its sales gains would continue in the holiday season, and it reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings, helped by sales of more expensive jewelry.

The upscale jeweler expects sales to rise at a low-teens percentage rate for the holiday quarter, but left unchanged its forecast for a high-teens increase for the full year, which ends in late January.

Tiffany's sales, excluding the effect of currency translations, rose 17 percent globally to $821.8 million in the third quarter ended on October 31, while sales at stores open at least one year rose 16 percent.

Tiffany reported net income of $89.7 million, or 70 cents per share, for the quarter, up from $55.1 million, or 43 cents per share, a year earlier and above the 61 cents a share that analysts were expecting, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Tiffany raised its full-year profit outlook range by 5 cents, to a range of $3.70 and $3.80 per share.

(Reporting by Phil Wahba; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)