Vertu

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Vertu

Type	Wholly-owned subsidiary of Nokia
Founded	1998
Headquarters	Church Crookham, Hampshire
Key people	Alberto Torres (CEO) Frank Nuovo (head of design)
Industry	Consumer electronics
Products	Luxury mobile phones
Website	http://www.vertu.com

A Vertu Signature mobile phone

Vertu is a British-based manufacturer and retailer of luxury mobile phones. The company is an independently run, wholly-owned subsidiary of the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia.

Concept

The concept of the company is to make mobile phones in the same vein as luxury watch manufacturers like Rolex, IWC and Patek Philippe. The most expensive model it has ever made is the Signature Cobra, at US$310,000 (~€217,000); the most expensive regular model is the Signature Diamond at US$88,000 (~€62,000). Prices start at $5,100 for the Constellation model.^[1]

Other models include: Ascent, Constellation and Ascent Ti. The standard Ascent models come in many different colours, such as: Black, Brown, Red and Orange. The Special Edition models come in White, Azure Blue and Pink. The Summer Collection models come in Strawberry Red and White. Variations of the Ascent also include the RaceTrack Editions and Ferrari Edition. The Ascent is no longer being produced by Vertu, though the Constellation, Ascent Ti and Signature are still in production.

The mobiles themselves are made from very expensive materials such as gold, sapphire (for the mobile screen), rubies (for the bearings) and fine leather. Each mobile is hand-made in its factories in Church Crookham, Hampshire, England.

The company is headquartered in the United Kingdom with offices in Paris, New York, Las Vegas, Singapore, Tokyo, Frankfurt, and Hong Kong. Vertu's president and COO is Perry Oosting, and the Principal Designer is Frank Nuovo. The company now has over 400 employees.

Distribution

To keep the value of the brand, Vertu mobiles are only available in its own branded stores, concessions in leading department stores such as Harrods and Selfridges in London, and other authorised retailers. Vertu’s flagship store opened in 2002 in Paris and then soon after in Singapore. There are now over 600 retail outlets.

Concierge Service

One of the services when one acquires a Vertu mobile, is a year free concierge service called "Vertu Concierge", operated by Ten UK in London. It is accessed through a special button, the "Concierge key" at the side of every phone.

This 'hot key' puts the user through to a team of lifestyle managers who can book services such as gourmet dining, and luxury travel or accommodation around the clock.

See also

• Goldvish Luxury phone

References

External links

• Vertu - official website
• Vertu Is Its Own Reward (TIME Stylewatch article)
• New Nokia Phones for Richie Rich (WIRED magazine)