Vertu

Vertu is back at it! Utilizing carbon fiber once again on their new line of luxurious cell phones, Vertu’s ‘Constellation Quest’ combines design elements of aeronautics and motorsport. This new collection sure does beat out their 2009 Ascent Ti Carbon Fiber cell phone collection.

Vertu, headquartered in the United Kingdom and founded in 1998, is a manufacturer and retailer of luxury phones. Vertu is a premium division of Nokia and they release a new motorsport special edition phone annually. In previous years, they released Ferrari editions and Racetrack Legends series.

The ‘Constellation Quest’ series, features two carbon fiber editions, available in stainless steel or 18-karat gold. Vertu uses only the finest of materials and this is clear given their avid use of carbon fiber. But beauty can be found in the keypad as well. The ‘Sea of Sapphire’ keypad can take almost two weeks to create. Each individual sapphire key, is ground and cut to shape then polished; a process that is said to take up to 25 hours. This work is done by expert engineers to ensure top notch quality and precision. The casing of the phone itself is made from carbon fiber (I think I’ve mentioned this a couple times so far) and metals such as titanium for added durability.

“Constellation Quest Carbon Fibre is Vertu’s first product to combine its smartphone technology with this most contemporary of design materials,” said Perry Oosting, Vertu President. “The result is a product that gives those customers who prefer the sporting aesthetic the opportunity to have a qwerty device incorporating the latest business tools.”

Really cool side note? The ringtone options in the phone have been exclusively created by the London Orchestra and Benjamin Wallfisch, definitely adding to user experience. Other features include a 5 megapixel camera with auto focus and dual LED-flash, downloadable apps, QuickOffice editor and even Vertu Concierge service.

“The ‘Constellation Quest’ has a quiet elegance and understated style that whispers confidence. This whispered confidence the company website talks about, will cost you  €7,700 (about $11,000 USD) for the stainless steel model and €12,000 (about $17,000USD) for the 18-karat gold model.