Peep Show: Thousands of dollars of Vertu cellphones in my hands

A few months ago I had the pleasure of spending a little quality time with a bunch of cellphones that are worth on par or much more than most cars: a bunch Vertu cell phones. Vertu is an independently run fully owned subsidiary of Nokia, but the similarities end there. These handsets are adorned in precious stones (rubies and diamonds), have gold plating, Italian leather, ceramic keys, and more.

The handsets also come with a concierge service specially designed for Vertu owners. Accessed through the dedicated “Concierge key” at the side of every Vertu phone, “the service comprises a team of specialists dedicated to delivering creative and relevant solutions to the needs of Vertu clients, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, depending on the language requested.”

There are seven handset editions:

• Signature - The first Vertu product line. The design of its phones is inspired by expensive “Grand Complication” timepieces.
• Ascent - The Ascent collection is inspired by the design of classic sports cars. Currently six of the worlds legendary racetracks are recognized as part of the Racetrack Legends limited edition Ascent phones, including a special box set containing all six phones.
• Constellation - Constellation is their latest collection, inspired by classic aircraft and travel, and designed for the jetset in mind with some models sporting ceramic keypads.
• Aerius - This is a line of bluetooth headsets which were designed by Jacob Jensen and are based on the Jabra JX10.
• Two Special editions
1. Diamond (need we say more)
2. Python, Cobra - Launched in India. Only 26 phones to be sold for the former and 8 phones for the latter, in partnership with Boucheron. These are exquisite, special edition instruments.

Vertu is headquartered in the United Kingdom with offices in Paris, New York, Beverly Hills, Singapore and Hong Kong. All Vertu products are hand-crafted in manufactures in the United Kingdom and Germany

Read [Vertu] Read [Wikipedia]