Solid Gold Phone Costs $57,400; Aimed at Russia's Oligarchs

Doesn't do email or take pictures

A Danish retailer has come up with the thing to buy a Russian gazzillionnaire who has everything: A solid gold cell phone.

Aesir's device doesn't do email, get you on the web or even take pictures, yet it costs $57,400. The company hopes the limited-edition 18-carat gold phones will be a hit with Moscow's nouveau riche.

The gold phone is "not a play thing," company founder Thomas Jensen told Reuters. "It's a collector's item. People are used to collecting, say, watches, while designer phones is a practically empty niche."

The firm says it will design a new phone every 18 months and produce no more than 5,000 of its classic model, sold for 42,000 euros in gold and 7,250 euros ($9,867) in stainless steel.

"Moscow is becoming a booming contemporary art city. At first people here had only money but now they have style. Their spending is more intellectual and sophisticated," said Mathias Rajani, Aesir's chief commercial officer.

Cellphone maker Nokia already makes a high-end, gem-encrusted phone that sells for as much as $72,500. As for the solid gold phone, one expert told Reuters it could find a niche.

"It will interest Russian Oligarchs and their girlfriends as well as businessmen whose social circles demand accessories that act as class indicators," said Natalia Legotina, the Moscow representative of British consultancy Art Market Research.

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