Cellphone maker strives to reach peak of luxury

Villas, yachts, private jets, chateaus and golf courses. For the Chinese superrich, a hand-polished luxury mobile phone that costs tens of thousands of yuan is just another glamorous addition to that list.

And sometimes one is not enough - one Chinese fan has collected 50, observes Ignacio Germade, creative director of English luxury cellphone maker Vertu. Germade was in Shanghai for a pre-launch dinner reserved for Vertu customers last month.

"We have collectors around the world but he is probably the person who has the most phones," Germade says, without giving further details about one Chinese customer.