With the name Vertu, what we all recall is elegance and luxury. Yes, it manufactures phones that make a status statement. They are not high-end phones but luxurious ones. However a common man would always have wondered about the brand, its phones, its users and many more things that come with brand Vertu. This premium phone brand is a British subsidiary popular mobile phone manufacturer Nokia. To find out answers of such questions we landed at the Popley Jewelers shop in Mumbai, distributors of the Vertu phone in India (western region).
As we had expected Nokia Vertu does not have a long list of products. Rather it has a limited series of exclusive phones for its very limited target audiences. Currently Vertu has Ascent, Constellation, Signature and the Ascent Ti series of phones. And its whole line-up is available in India. Not to forget Vertu has also launched the Limited Ferrari edition, which is also available in the country.
If you would like to buy Nokia Vertu phones the price range starts from Rs. 2.20,000 and the price can go up to Rs. 4 million. That’s too much, isn’t it? You must be wondering what those phones feature to carry such a high price tag. They are encrusted with gold and diamonds? Well, that is partially true.
However, Vertu does not make any customized phones as per the users specifications. Surprising! Instead it makes limited edition customized pieces of luxury phones. Recently 8 new Vertu phones were made available, which were encrusted in pink diamonds. A French jeweler had especially made them for Vertu. India was the lucky country to receive one of them. Well, this model was sold in the country for Rs. 1.6 crores.
Most of Vertu’s higher end phones are encrusted in sparkling diamonds and other precious stones. Not all though. Vertu customers pay for such a big amount not only for status but also for the balance of technology and design.
Vertu’s phones pass various tests of quality. The Signature series screen of the handset is made of Sapphire crystal, which is scratch-resistant. The famous Rolex watches incorporate the same glass too. Besides, it also uses Ruby ball bearings under the buttons, instead of a spring of steel, which is used in regular phones. Of course not to forget, the Signature series body is made of paledian, a metal combination of steel and titanium. Paledian is durable and scratch-resistant too. That means Vertu takes a lot of care of the mobile phones from accidental falls, shocks and dents.
Besides, the phones use gold conductors. You must have learnt in school that gold optimizes power consumption. This theory works here. These gold conductors optimize the power, resulting into a longer battery life. This feature would be most important for those who often face a battery drain problem.
All these phones are powered by Nokia’s operating system software as it is known to be one of the most user friendly operating systems for mobile phones.
Moreover, Vertu phone users enjoy a special Concierge service. Perhaps if you are in London and want to send flower bouquet to your friend in New York, you can just call up the concierge, an assistant online who will show you the path. Such assistance will provide information regarding movie, timing or booking for an airline or such problems that you might face while traveling. It is a 24 hours UK-based global service that can give you international assistance. A very handy service for regular travelers!
As you must have guessed, film starts, big industrialist in the India use Vertu phones. Initially, when the Vertu India launch took place about two years back, personalities like Shobha De, Leander Paes, Karan Johar, Ujwala Raut endorsed the brand. Besides, Rani Mukharjee was seen with two phones from Constellation series in the movie Laga Chunari Pe Daag. While the entire Bachchan family and Sanjay Dutt are few extremely popular personalities who use Vertu phones today.
So we come to the conclusion, that though Vertu is one of the highly luxurious brands for mobile phones, it has a market in a country like India as well. Now Popley Jewelers are planning to open an exclusive boutique for the Vertu phones, which will be located in Mumbai.
It reminds me a song of Kishore Kumar ‘Peeney walon ko peeney ka Bahana Chahiye…’ to compliment ‘Kharch karney walon ko Kharch karney ka Bahana chahiye !!’