Is it True: Vietnamese Customers Spend 800 Million VND on a Phone, a Price Tag Matching that of a Car, Yet Lacking 5G and AI?

A special guest recently flew from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City to receive their new Vertu Signature V Pure Silver Clous De Paris handset in person.

The customer chose a special edition from the Signature V range, featuring premium leather, a Clous De Paris patterned casing, and a price tag of 800 million VND (approximately $34,000). “The leather material is beautiful, and the color is just right, so if I can afford it, why not? As for Vertu, there’s not much to say. I fell in love with this model as soon as I first saw it and got to hold it,” the customer shared.

The market often wonders why a phone without 5G connectivity or modern technological features can command a price ranging from hundreds of millions to billions of VND, yet still attract devoted fans.

First, let’s talk about Vertu. This is the name of a feature phone brand that uses a physical keyboard and was produced by a separate division of Nokia.

With the goal set by the production team to design a phone with an unlimited budget, Vertu gradually established its brand and official logo in the market. The Signature range is the most expensive phone line in the world, catering to aristocratic clients with net worths exceeding millions of dollars. Inspired by Grand Complication watches—renowned for their impeccably precise standards—each Signature phone comprises nearly 400 mechanical components, meticulously handcrafted by a select few of the world’s most skilled and experienced engineers.

Priced similarly to a Toyota Corolla Altis or Honda Civic automobile, the Vertu Signature V offers a design featuring a stainless steel frame, a keyboard supported by 4.75-carat rubies, and an artisan-crafted finish. To ensure an optimal typing experience, the keyboard undergoes thousands of experiments before its release. Additionally, the phone’s face is crafted from scratch-resistant sapphire, the second-hardest natural material after diamonds, which takes two weeks to produce in a 2000°C furnace.

The phone’s leather finish is crafted from European mountain-sourced calfskin, carefully assembled by artisans to provide a perfect grip and resistance to fingerprints and dust. Unlike mass-market phones, the Vertu Signature V Pure Silver Clous De Paris is entirely handcrafted by experienced artisans. The production process occurs in a sterile environment, and all personnel involved wear anti-static uniforms.

Each production stage is meticulously supervised and quality-checked by top experts before leaving the factory, ensuring that not a single speck of dust taints the phone. According to the manufacturer, this phone model boasts exclusive ringtones and alert tones featuring famous melodies from around the world.