Vertu Concierge

Vertu Concierge

What is Vertu Concierge?

Every Vertu handset connects directly to the exclusive Vertu Concierge service. At the touch of a dedicated buttton, personal assistance is on hand, 24 hours a day.

With expert advice on travel, entertainment, accomodation, restaurants and events, Vertu Concierge is available in several languages.

The exceptional gift

Scenario: with his diamond anniversary approaching, a customer set Vertu Concierge the task of sourcing a truly exceptional piece of jewellery.

Solution: Vertu Concierge took a detailed brief, learning everything about his wife’s style, taste and other cherished pieces.

Conclusion: from the world’s finest jewellers.
Vertu Concierge assembled a shortlist of options from which the client chose this e-quisite diamond necklace by Boucheron of Paris.

The perfect itinerary

Scenario: a customer and his fiancee were looking for inspiration for their honeymoon – for outstanding destinations, hotels and activities.

Solution: Vertu Concierge put together a stunning itinerary, booking the entire trip.

Conclusion: the happy couple enjoyed nights in illustrious hotels such as villa Michaela and Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris, with every need catered for on a trip of a lifetime.

The deadline

Scenario: a London based Vertu customer needed to meet a client in Geneva for a face-to-face negotiation clinch a deal. With no scheduled flights available.

Solution: a private jet was arranged within hours by Vertu Concierge. Delivering the customer safely and inplenty of time to Switzerland.

Conclusion: the deal was closed over dinner in a restaurant recommended and booked by Vertu Concierge.


from:vertu.com

Heritage

1983: a new elite accessory

The first mobile handsets launch. Tough bulky and heavy, they quickly become ultra-exclusive accessories for the world’s elite.

1986: everyone wants one

Now an essential tool for the world’s movers and shakers, mobile handsets grow ever more compact and pwerful as demand grows.

1990: mobiles for the masses

The fast pace of developing technology – together with more innovative, affordable designs – triggers the inevitable move to mass production.

1995: Frank Nuovo’s exceptional idea

Frank Nuovo, Nokia’s visionary chief designer, begins to develop his idea for a specialist company producing the world’d most exceptional handsets.

1997: Nokia makes Vertu a reality

In a world of mass-produced, bargain hadsets crammed with technology. Frank presents his radical plans to Nokia.

1998: Vertu – born from an obsession

Vertu team of specialists begins a programme of painstaking research and development. There are no limits. The only goal is to create a truly exceptional handset.

2001: Signature is unveiled

Hand-made from a set of unique components – each one designed and produced specifically for the project – Vertu assembles the first Signature prototype.

2002: the first elite customers

Vertu’s first elite customers receive their Signature handsets. Each one a hand-crafted masterpiece, the mobile phone has again become an exclusive object.

2003: Vertu at Harrods

The world’s most exceptional handsets go on sale in the world’s most famous store.

2004: cue Ascent

Crafted for performance, inspired by the aesthetics and rugged durability of the world’s greatest sports cars – cue Ascent.

2005: the Signature Diamond collection

Taking already unrivlled levels of beauty and craftmanship to an even higher plane, Vertu launches the Signature Diamond collection.

2006: Constellation – a star is born

Now fine craftmanship transcends borders. Constellation is launched for the world’s most demanding travellers.

from:vertu.com

Vertu made in England

Vertu made in England

Hidden away in the leafy English countryside. Vertu’s custom-built workshop is where each vertu handset is expertly assembled by hand.

The high-security building is also home to Vertu’s design and research & development operations, as wellas housing its rigorous testing facilities.

The custom-built workshop

Inside the building, Vertu craftmen work in near-sterile, individual workshops, to ensure each Vertu pieces is assembled in dust-free conditions.

The precious metals and stones used in Vertu handsets are stone in high-security vaults, deep in the heart of the building.

The design inspiration

Every component for each handset in the Vertu range specifically researched, developed and designed by the most talented individuals in mobile engineering.

Expert teams work together to produce the perfect combination of materials, components and designs then come together in the final blueprints for each handset.

Hand-build by experts

It takes up to three years to master assembling a Vertu handset. Vertu recruits individuals with a passion for perfoming intricate tasks to perfection.

Today there are only a handful of craftmen in the world who have passed this extraordinary detailed apprenticeship.

The exclusive results

Hand-made in England, each Vertu handset is a masterpiece of design, engineering and craftmanship.

Vertu handsets are exceptional. Owned by important people all around the world.


from:vertu.com

Vertu company profile

Vertu is a British-based manufacturer and retailer of luxury mobile phones. The company is an independently run, wholly-owned subsidiary of the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia. The concept of the company is to make mobile phones in the same vein as the luxury watch manufacturers like Rolex, TAG Heuer and Patek Philippe. Its most expensive model, it has ever made is the Signature Cobra, at US$310,000 (~€217,000), the most expensive regular model is the Signature Diamond at US$88,000 (~€62,000).

The mobiles themselves are made from very expensive materials such as gold, sapphires (for the mobile screen), rubies (for the bearings) and fine leather. Plus, each mobile is hand-made in its factories in Church Crookham, United Kingdom and Bad Homburg, Germany

The company is headquartered in the United Kingdom with offices in Paris, New York, Beverly Hills, Singapore and Hong Kong. Vertu's CEO is Alberto Torres, and the Principal Designer is Frank Nuovo.The company now employs over 400 employees.

Distribution

To keep the value of the brand, Vertu mobiles are only available in its own branded stores, leading department stores such as Harrods in London, and authorised retailers. Vertu’s flagship store opened in 2002 in Paris and then soon after in Singapore. There are now over 320 retail outlets.

Concierge Service

One of the services when one acquires a Vertu mobile, is a year free concierge service called "Vertu Concierge". It is accessed through a special button, the "Concierge key" at the side of every phone. The service comprises a team of assistants to help the owner, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A known example is when Gwyneth Paltrow used the service to give her a replacement phone charger after she had lost it.

Company Short Description

Type: Wholly-owned subsidiary of Nokia

Founded : 1998

Headquarters : London

Key people : Alberto Torres (CEO) Frank Nuovo (head of design)

Industry : Consumer electronics

Products : Luxury mobile phones

Website : www.vertu.com

from : wikipedia.org

People talking about Vertu (1)

Review by Patricia Tan

March 18, 2002

…...................

Vertu’s Beginnings

In development for five years, Nokia has devoted serious consideration and commitment to this venture. Although it was positioned to augur a paradigm shift in the industry, the entire project now smacks of the late 90s. Those were the years, flush with bravado and optimism, when young upstarts stole the corporate limelight with their apparent Midas touch. They eschewed the trappings of wealth that once defined success; they preferred Beetles to Benzes. At that time, Nokia recognized that phones, like credit cards, were “lekking devices” – the new social badges for class, personality and community. These rich young things, it was probably surmised, would have loved the Vertu.

How times have changed, but the Vertu is still poised to create that segment of the mobile handset market that already exists in concept. The demand for look-at-me phones, certainly, is there. The BBC reports that London jeweler de Grisogono has already produced around 20 custom-made diamond-encrusted phones for its clients, costing between £18,000 and £23,000 (E 26,000-37,000). Ericsson and Motorola have both gilded their phones with gold and stones.

Vertu, however, promises to be much more. Its creative director and designer is Frank Nuovo. Nuovo is credited with steering Nokia’s astronomical rise with his understanding of how phones “connected people” with more than technology. In Nuovo’s words, the Vertu has been created in the tradition of “dedication to precision craft and design.”

A fascinating idea. The cognoscenti would recognize this effort as timely and timeless – marrying the tradition of craft with the technology of the day, much in the vein of fine timepieces. Vertu’s claim to apply the philosophy of craftsmanship – painstaking detail and superb, even obsessive, focus – to a category defined by speed of change is truly exciting.

………………

completely on : brandchannel.com

Vertu : the super-luxurious mobile handsets.

Precious materials

The 18 carat gold and platinum used to encase vertu's precious metal handsets are certified by the Swiss Assay Office.

Jewelled bearings

Highly durable ruby bearings, used in every vertu handset, add the precision, smoothness and longevity of its action.

Sapphire cristal

To ensure the face of every Vertu handset remains blemish-free. Vertu uses precision-cut, highly-polished sapphire crystal, famed for its clarity and durability.

Finest leather

Vertu selects only the best hides from Northern Europe as they have fewer surface imperfections than hides from hotter southern climes. Despite this, up to 65% of every hide is rejected.

Innovative materials

Twice as hard as stainless steel. Liquidmetal(r) is a new amorphous alloy selected by Vertu's experts. This is the first time it has been used in amobile phone.

Excellent acoustics

Specially typed for high-fidelity performance and deeper bass response, the 20mm speaker is 50 per cent larger than those used in mass-produced handsets.

The perfect click

In the same way that world-class automotive manufacturers "tune" the slam of their car doors to deliver the most pleasing note, each key is designed end tuned to deliver the perfect key feel.