Bling to Your Ring: Luxury Retailer to Offer Solid Gold Phone For US$57,400

Danish luxury retailer Aesir has unveiled a limited-edition 18-carat gold mobile phone, which it aims to market to the ultra-wealthy and fashion-forward members of the Russian elite.

The phone, valued at 42,000 euros (US$57,400), will have little to it in terms of features when compared to modern smart phones. Called the AE+Y, the phone is unable to surf the internet, access email, or even take photographs. In fact, the only task it appears to be able to do is to make, and receive, phone calls.

Danish luxury retailer Aesir has unveiled a limited-edition 18-carat gold mobile phone, which it aims to market to the ultra-wealthy and fashion-forward members of the Russian elite.

The phone, valued at 42,000 euros (US$57,400), will have little to it in terms of features when compared to modern smart phones. Called the AE+Y, the phone is unable to surf the internet, access email, or even take photographs. In fact, the only task it appears to be able to do is to make, and receive, phone calls.

“It’s a collector’s item. People are used to collecting, say, watches, while designer phones is a practically empty niche,” said Aesir’s founder Thomas Jensen to Reuters.

According to Aesir’s website, “The Æ+Y has been engineered, built and crafted by a team of specialists, selected because they could fulfil (sic) the unique requirements of Yves Béhar’s design.”

Taking over three years to develop, the AE+Y also comes in a stainless steel model, which is priced at a relatively modest price of 7,250 euros (US$9,867). The firm says it will design a new phone every 18 months and produce no more than 5,000 of its classic model, adding to its exclusivity.

Luxury market analysts have already compared the AE+Y to the gem-encrusted mobile phones developed by Nokia’s British mobile subsidiary Vertu, whose models range in price from US$6,500 to US$72,500.

However some analysts have warned that while there may be a potential market for the AE+Y, it would unlikely to be among the cultural elite of Russia.

“It could find a place in the Russian market but definitely not in the cultural elite circles, which favor new smart-phone models,” said Natalia Legotina, the Moscow representative of British consultancy Art Market Research.

“It will interest Russian Oligarchs and their girlfriends as well as businessmen whose social circles demand accessories that act as class indicators,” she said.

According to its website, the stainless steel model is expected to ship during Fall 2011. The solid gold model, on the other hand, is expected in the winter. Apart from Cyrillic, Aesir will also roll out models in Chinese as well.

Image: AESIR website