If you think Apple iPhone is highly expensive, think again. It will not even compare to one of these phones that we have here. There are world’s most expensive cellphones that cost in the range of tens of thousands of dollars to buy. These are not for our general smartphone market, obviously.
They are to cater to those individuals with special needs that make a thousand times the average income of the highest-paid guy you personally know. They are high-class luxury cellphones that are mostly handmade with highly expensive materials. Here, we have a list of such ultra-pricey smartphones, including the world’s most expensive smartphone.
7. Vertu Ti
Vertu is a luxury phone manufacturer based in England. It was created by Nokia and run as a wholly owned subsidiary until Nokia sold it to a private equity group called EQT VI. Vertu Ti is the latest model from Vertu that runs Android ICS (as opposed to Nokia’s smartphones, none of which uses Android operating system). Vertu Ti is a full-touch device that is built with grade 5 Titanium, and is purported to be five times stronger than the most scratch-resistant smartphones out there.
Ti runs 1.7 GHz processor and has a 3.7 inch screen, which is protected by sapphire crystal. The smartphone, which can be shipped to a few of the European countries, retails for 6700 pounds (starting price) that is roughly 10,385 US dollars.
6. Tag Heuer Link
Fourth largest luxury watch maker, Tag Heuer makes also luxury cell phones. Link is one of their smartphones that runs Android. Link comes in various editions, including a full gold build and a full diamond build with 1007 diamonds. Link’s building materials also include crocodile and lizard skin. Tag Heuer works with Swiss company ModeLabs in order to create luxury smartphones.
These phones are not really big on hardware. Link has a 3.5 inch screen and runs an older version of Android (Gingerbread anybody?). It has 3.5 G connectivity at best and has 8 GB of storage. The processor speed is only 1 GHz. With all these low-end features and extremely strong build-quality, Tag Heuer Link can be purchased on select markets for slightly more than 10,000 US dollars.
5. Continental Mobiles Aura Collection
If you shout “Hey, that’s an iPhone!†You would be right. Continental Mobiles has done the smart thing of adding luxury to an already existing top smartphone, Apple iPhone 5. They add select materials like platinum, gold, diamonds, etc., to your favorite iPhone to make a luxury version of it. With this tactic, they are able to provide us with a high-performance smartphone that is high in luxury as well, unlike other providers in the list who come up with their own mediocre hardware specs.
Continental Mobiles Aura features diamonds and platinum covering your iPhone 5 and retails for more than 20 times the price of your iPhone. You can buy one of these phones for $ 14,999.
4. Dior Reverie
If you thought we were kidding about the price of the phones above, you are in for a surprise. Dior Reverie has been hand-crafted in France. It has white gold, pearls, and diamonds on it, and sells for at least 107,000 dollars. That’s right!
3. Ulysse Nardin Chairman
The Swiss watchmaker, Ulysse Nardin has quietly come up with this series of smartphones under the brand ‘Chairman’. These phones cost anywhere from 14,000 to 130,000 dollars. Yes, even more than Dior Reverie. They include all kinds of extremely pricey materials, and the top model has 3000 hand-cut 17 carat diamonds.
Not only that, Ulysse Nardin Chairman is in the Guinness World Records for being the costliest mobile phone series.
2. GoldVish “Le Millionâ€
In 2006, in Cannes Millionaire Fair, GoldVish, the luxury manufacturer of smartphones, introduced its phone that would later be known as ‘Piece Unique’. It featured 100 carats of VVS1 (Very Very Slightly Included) quality diamonds. A Russian businessman purchased the mobile phone for a price of “wait for it†1.278 million US dollars.
Long story short, it is now featured in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most expensive mobile phone ever sold.
[Update: ]
1. Apple iPhone 5 Black Diamond
In the image is Apple iPhone 5 Black Diamond, which costs 10 million pounds (15.3 million USD). It is marketed by Stuart Hughes of Liverpool, a designer catering to the ultra-rich. Thanks to a comment that appeared in this post that gave us the information about this product.
This iPhone has its chassis made of pure gold and black diamonds. That’s it. You can get more information from the official website linked above, and this iPhone replaces the Le Million as the most expensive smartphone ever made. However, the choice lies with you, whether to like the product or not.
Conclusion
These phones that you read about here are not for average smartphone buffs like us. They will never be sold in large quantities and will never be part of drop tests. They may never even come to stores near you. They are for elite folks who can spend! Also, owning one of these phones is a status symbol and with it comes such privileges as concierge service, passes to elite events, etc. For us outsiders, there is nothing but pure awe!