Vertu Releases £14,300 Signature Touch Pure Jet Red Gold Smartphone

Luxury smartphone manufacturer Vertu has updated its Signature Touch range with the ‘Pure Jet Red Gold’, a less flashy version of the device that will cost interested parties a whopping £14,300.

The Pure Jet Red Gold eschews Vertu’s signature precious stones for solid red gold on physical buttons and has Grade 5 titanium sides with a black PVD-coated back plate.

The device is wrapped in “highly refined ‘fine-mill’ calf leather sourced from the Alpine region of Europe and crafted by one of the area’s oldest tanneries,” meaning every unit may be slightly different.

Features

Underneath this exterior are specifications largely similar to other devices in the Signature Touch range. The handset is powered by a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 64GB of memory, runs Android 4.4 KitKat and supports Qi Wireless charging and Near Field Communication (NFC).

Also included is a 13 megapixel rear facing camera and 2.1 megapixel front facing sensor along with Bang & Olufsen enhanced sound and exclusive ring and alert tones created by the London  Symphony Orchestra.

Other services included Kaspersky anti-virus, access to iPass global Wi-Fi network, Silent Circle encryopted communications and round-the-clock remote tech support. Proud owners will also have access to Vertu’s concierge service, access to private members’ clubs and will receive invites to exclusive events.

Expensive toys

Established by Nokia in 1998, Vertu has produced some of the most expensive phones in the world, with each device handmade at its factory in Hampshire.

Its phones can only be purchased from 500 retailers, including 70 of its own boutiques, but there are believed be more than 300,000 Vertu owners around the world. Nokia sold Vertu to a Swedish private equity firm last year in a transaction believed to be worth around £162.5 million.

Recent handsets by the company include the £10,700 Vertu for Bentley, the £4,100 Vertu Constellation and the £6,700 Vertu Signature Touch, which promises to encrypt users’ communications.

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