IF YOU can spend $20,000 on a watch, why not on a mobile phone? That is the idea behind Vertu, which describes itself as “the first luxury communication company”. Its stylish handset—the company prefers to call it an “instrument”—features a sapphire-crystal screen and ruby bearings, and is available in stainless steel, gold and platinum finishes, with prices ranging from RM 16,000 to RM 66,000. Since its launch, the phone—sorry, instrument—has become a celebrity favourite. Gwyneth Paltrow, an American actress, was the first customer. Madonna and Mariah Carey are said to be Vertu fans; another singer, Jennifer Lopez, is reported to own three. Vertu is the brainchild of Frank Nuovo, a design guru at Nokia, the world's largest handset-maker, of which Vertu is a subsidiary. But is there really a big enough market for luxury phones? U sell one Vertu is equivalent to 50-100 other chepo Nokia's of ours.
