Nobody had really thought of making the ultimate luxury phone until Vertu came along and created it, to the delight of thousands of VIPs. Gwyneth Paltrow was supposedly the first customer, according to the Economist. Needless to say, the crème de la crème of the Arab world and many a Russian millionaire have also coveted this prized “instrument”, as Vertu prefers to call itself.
It all started 10 years ago in 1998 when Frank Nuovo began to sketch some ideas for what he touted as the world’s most luxurious mobile phone. “My goal was to create the finest handset the world has ever seen,” says Nuovo.
The industry at that point was starving for something compact, sophisticated and solid, to offer a better choice than flimsy phones coming from Asia and elsewhere. Even Nokia’s popular phones were starting to quickly show signs of wear and tear. No one in 1998 had really heard of Vertu when it was established, and no one knew that Nokia was (and still is) behind the team of specialists that got together in 2000 to produce the masterpieces by Vertu. (For marketing purposes, Vertu has chosen to downplay the fact that Nokia is its mother company).
By 2001, Vertu had perfected the production process for sapphire crystal, creating “the world’s largest pieces of cosmetic sapphire crystal at 69.25 carats,” according to the company. Even the use of ruby bearings beneath the number keys was patented, as the Vertu Signature became the first electronic product to be granted a hallmark by the Swiss Assay Office. This all led to the first Vertu phone on the market in 2002 and met with modest success, that many Western analysts – who perhaps didn’t have a full understanding of the rich’s spending habits such as in the Arab world – said wouldn’t last. But it did, and Vertu excelled by marketing itself very differently from the rest. Rather than showing up at most electronic shows like other wannabe luxury phones, Vertu coupled up with sophisticated fashion shows and suave events such as the Paris Couture Week. Such associations went far in portraying the brand as a luxury fashion accessory rather than a high-tech cell phone, which debuted at a starting price of 5,000 USD.
In effect, Vertu has built most of its premise on new techniques and new materials, in what it called a “no boundaries” working philosophy. “From the outset, Vertu has refused to be constrained by conventional manufacturing techniques” says Hutch Hutchison, Head of Concept, Creation and Design at Vertu. Indeed, there’s a myriad of preciously hand-crafted ingredients that have gone into each handset, such as first-grade leather, gold and high-tech ceramic. “It took three years to perfect the keypad” says Hutchison, “from the development of the thinnest micro switches to a unique system of ruby bearings.”
Nonetheless, there have been tech critics that would like to see more features, which is probably why the recent Ascent Ti model from Vertu has packed a few good ones. These include quad band, 3G, a 3 megapixel flash VGA camera and design inspired by high-performance sports cars. Even the onscreen chronograph mimics dashboard instruments. There are more gimmicky (yet useful) features such backing up stored data in a high security server within an ex-military bunker somewhere in the English countryside.
Beyond the physical value of each handset, Vertu has created a 24-hour personal concierge service for all Vertu owners, with a dedicated key that connects them to entertainment advice, travel info and reservations. While initially some were sceptical of the feature’s usefulness, Vertu passed the 10,000 concierge request in 2005. The concierge service has accomplished tasks from sourcing unique gifts to flying customers on a private jet to Switzerland because there was no commercial plane available from their destination at that time. The service is available globally in five languages, with detailed records of each customer's preferences.
While a few other companies have also attempted luxury phones (think LG’s Prada and the Porsche mobile), the cake goes to Vertu for the added concierge service, extreme craftsmanship and splendid survival in a tough market.
Interesting partnerships are coming up in the future, like the recent one between Vertu and Tag Heuer. There are rumours that controversial British artist Damien Hirst is collaborating on a project with the company to create something magnificent in terms of design, so luxury phone aficionados will certainly have more from the Vertu collections to look forward to.
Vertu Bahrain
Seef Mall,
Manama
+973 17 58 1004
Vertu Kuwait
Salhia Complex,
Kuwait City
+965 2411 956
Vertu Lebanon
136 Allenby Street,
Beirut
+9613 726 726
Vertu KSA
Khayat Centre,
Jeddah
+966 2 664 6696
Vertu UAE,
Marina Mall,
Abu Dhabi
+9712 681 6344
Vertu UAE
BurJuman Centre,
Dubai
+9714 355 1105
