The report showed that the Swiss watchmaker Longines was the only watch brand to make the list, coming in at 15th place, replacing the more expensive Rolex, which dropped off the list altogether this year.

"This year, there is a clear trend toward gifting more modestly priced top luxury goods," Hoogewerf added, explaining that the tougher economic conditions in 2012, coupled with the country's new political leadership's intended crackdown on corruption, meant that many previously generous individuals were showing more restraint in offering gifts.

The report showed that the French winemaker Chateau Lafite was the only drinks brand to make the Top 10, which it described as "a clear representation of the Chinese luxury consumers' newfound love of wine".

Items produced by the electronics giant Apple Inc rose from fourth place last year to second place this year as the preferred gift brand by men, and the only digital product brand making it into the Top 10.

In terms of origin, French gifts still appeared to be very much in vogue, dominating the list.

Louis Vuitton was seen as the most preferred brand for gifts from men, as 13.9 percent of interviewees showed preference for it.

Chanel was voted the best brand for gifts from women, taking 15.9 percent of the female vote.

The fashion brand Burberry was the United Kingdom name to make the Top10 this year.

And Gucci and Montblanc also performed well, both making into the Top 10 for the first time.

Despite tougher economic conditions this year, it appears that the amounts being spent are still eye-watering to the average consumers.

Yu Kang, a 56-year-old billionaire and Shanghai property developer, spent about 2 million yuan on gifts last year.

"I preferred widely recognized luxury items valued at more than 10,000 yuan, such as Hermes and Chanel bags, Cartier jewelry, and Montblanc pens," said Yu.

The billionaire also admitted to sending gifts including more than 50 iPhones, 10 iPad3s, five iPad minis, and a dozen Macbooks to his business partners and friends.

Huang Le, a 53-year-old businesswoman running a shoe trading company in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, added that she hadn't given out any branded bags as gifts in the past year, saying they are not as valuable as diamond jewelry and watches.

Huang said she had bought various Cartier diamond rings and a watch by Patek Philippe as New Year gifts for close friends and regular business contacts.

"I don't think it is very appropriate to send gifts valued any less than 200,000 yuan per item, and that's quite common among businesswomen," said Huang.

Contact the writers at shijing@chinadaily.com.cn and yuran@chinadaily.com.cn

Beijing leads nation on rich list Beijing has the largest number of rich people in China, being home to more than 100,000 high-net-worth families. This is the finding of the 2012 China Wealth Report co-released by Boston Consulting Group and China Construction Bank. The report said there are more than 200 high-net-worth families out of every 10,000 families in Beijing. Based on a survey of 1,912 individuals with household net worth of at least 6 million yuan ($950,000), the report found that Beijing, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang and Guangdong were each home to at least 100,000 rich families in 2012, comprising 40 percent of the high-net-worth families nationwide. But China's inland regions are seeing faster growth in the number of dollar millionaires than Beijing, the report found but provided no figures. The number of high-net-worth households in Anhui, Gansu and Hunan rose by 30 percent year-on-year in 2012, but the growth rate for high-net-worth families in Guangdong and Zhejiang was below 10 percent in 2012 due to a drop in business owners' wealth, and companies' operating difficulties. Some 56 percent of the millionaires are company owners, 60 percent of whom are seeing their companies prosper with steady income and profits. The number of millionaires making their fortune from property market investment fell significantly in 2012, the report found but provided no figures. Most interviewees were optimistic about the high-tech and medical industries providing future sources of wealth. The report also found that investable assets held by households in 2012 increased 14 percent year-on-year to 73 trillion yuan. The number of high-net-worth households grew by 17 percent to reach 1.74 million in 2012. Shi Jing