$310,000 Cell Phones New Status Symbols For The Rich
Posted April 16, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
What’s your idea of the ultimate status symbol?
A fancy car, a big mansion, a huge yacht or glittering jewelry hanging from various parts of your body come to mind.
But what about the lowly cell phone?
It turns out that’s becoming something to call home about, too.
Most of us either buy a relatively cheap handset – worth at most a couple of hundred dollars – or get one free with a calling plan.
But that’s not good enough for the rich and famous, who have money to burn and want everyone to know it.
How else can you explain the latest version of the Vertu line, an offshoot created by phone maker Nokia? It displayed its latest and greatest expensive offerings at a Swiss watch and jewelry convention last week.
Among the phones on offer – gold and diamond encrusted handsets that start at prices as “low” as $4,350 and head all the way to an eye popping $310,000 (US).
For some in the younger years of the jet set crowd, the phone has replaced a fancy jewel-encrusted watch as the ultimate portable symbol of success.
“The phone has a strong association for a lot of young people,” agrees Vertu President Alberto Torres.
He claims the constant use and public display of cell phones have turned them into a hot commodity for the wealthy.
“A phone has become an important element of lifestyle. The phone says something about yourself,” he notes.
Not to mention your wallet size.
What do you get for all those bucks? One of the phones, which is described as signature yellow gold, comes with 943 6.6-carat diamonds surrounding the handset and another another 48 1.4-carat sparklers on the keys.
It’s also available in white gold with the same specifications, if you want one for each outfit.
And if you have to ask how much it costs, you can’t afford it.
But even though you may not be in the market for a solid gold cell, somebody is buying the baubles.
Vertu’s sales were up 140 percent last year, when it sold 100,000 of the luxury items, and the company is expecting another 100 percent increase by the time 2007’s figures are totaled.
The company believes most of its posh clientele is coming from new millionaires benefiting from the booming economies of China, India and Russia, as well as the oil rich Middle East.
But wealthy North Americans aren’t exempt from putting their money where their mouths will be.
So the next time you hear that guy in the Porsche yakking on his phone, remember that his ring may also be his bling.
And he wants you to notice both of them.
To see some of the phones, click here.
