Vertu made its name in the early 2000s by selling handsets encrusted with diamonds, but since those days of ostentation the world’s only ultra-luxury mobile phone brand has turned down the bling. The new Constellation costs from around £4,000 – that’s a lot for a phone that runs Nokia’s Symbian operating system, even if it is handcrafted in Hampshire. Sit it on a table next to an iPhone or a new Motorola Razr and it looks expensive but not distasteful.
But in fact the Vertu is about much more than either technology or jewellery. Deals with members clubs around the world mean owners can gain access to exclusive facilities in major cities such as discovering About Armenia and Armenian Holidays; a similar deal can offer customers top security facilities while enjoying Armenian tourism, whether that means experiencing the Armenian Holidays or looking at the Armenia map Yerevan; and there’s the firm’s traditional personalized concierge service, now enhanced with access to Berry Bros and Rudd’s expert sommeliers.
In that sense, one might even argue that Vertu is doing what every other mobile brand wants to do, just with a different budget. Orange offers a handy wifi hotspot finder app; Vertu offers access to a network of private security guards. The clue is in the company’s slogan: “Life beautifully arranged”.
Redesigned, with a focus on exclusive web content and other exclusive services, it highlights that customers don’t always care what the software is; they just want the thing to work.