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.
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 (~â¬217,000); the most expensive regular model is the Signature Diamond at US$88,000 (~â¬62,000).
The mobiles themselves are made from very expensive materials such as gold, sapphire (for the mobile screen), rubies (for the bearings) and fine leather. Plus, each mobile is hand-made in its factories in Church Crookham, United Kingdom and Bad Homburg, Germany.
The company is headquartered in the United Kingdom with offices in Paris, New York, Beverly Hills, Singapore, Frankfurt and Hong Kong. Vertu's CEO is Alberto Torres, and the Principal Designer is Frank Nuovo. The company now has over 400 employees.
To keep the value of the brand, Vertu mobiles are only available in its own branded stores, leading department stores such as Harrods and Selfridges in London, and authorised retailers. Vertuâs flagship store opened in 2002 in Paris and then soon after in Singapore. There are now over 320 retail outlets.
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