Most expensive cellphones unveiled in 2008

After jewelry and modern gadgets, cellphones festooned with gold, platinum and diamonds are turning out to be the best assets to flaunt lavishness. The ubiquitous trend of encrusting crystals on gadgets has made it pretty clear that men love bling as much as women. If your wish list for this holiday season includes a luxurious, bejeweled phone, take a look at this list of the best luxury phones launched this year.

Tag Heuer Meridiist

With leather and metal embellishments complementing its angular design, the Tag Heuer Meridiist is an example of precision craftsmanship in the mobile space. The Meridiist boasts a Sapphire crystal display glass, 2 megapixel camera, 1.9-inch QVGA display, mp3 player and bluetooth wireless technology. Priced between $5300 and $6100. More here.

Apple iPhone 24ct Gold Edition by Goldstriker

Goldstriker has always been famous for its gold plated handsets. Their latest addition is the Apple iphone 3G 24ct Gold edition. Parts adorned are front bezel and all outer command buttons. Priced at £1,195. More here.

Mobiado Professional 105 ZAF

Claimed to be the thinnest luxury phone in the world, the 105 ZAF measures a mere 10.6mm thin. The entire front and back of the phone has been fabricated from large pieces of sapphire crystal, providing a modern minimalist look with a wear resistance second only to diamond. More here.

Motorola Aura

Boasting of outstanding craftsmanship, inspired by high-end watches, the AURA breaks convention and marks the return of artistry in the design of mobile phones. The luxury handset comes with a 1.55-inch circular LCD screen, and a 2-megapixel camera. Priced at £1400. More here.

Vertu Ascent Ti collection

The Vertu Ascent Ti collection is targeted straight at the affluent Ferrari fans. The three new models include the limited edition Nero (Black) and some special editions called the Rosso (Red) and Gaillo (Yellow). All three phones will bear a Ferrari logo on their back. More here.

Mobiado 105GMT Gold with dual mechanical Swiss watch

The 105GMT Gold will be limited to 50 masterpieces, with the limited edition number being machine engraved into the back of each phone. The entire front and back of the 105GMT Gold Luxury Mechanical Watch mobile phone has been crafted from large pieces of sapphire crystal. The 105GMT Gold incorporates a unique dual mechanical watch movement. More here.

Continental 3G iPhone with emeralds

This is the world’s first iPhone set with emeralds and VS1 quality diamonds. This masterpiece, with vivid green emeralds, is one of the most iconic and coveted phones ever conceived. Blending seamlessly with the 3G iPhone’s sleek curves, the handcrafted case emanates a sensual allure that is almost impossible to resist. Priced at £2999 and £3099 8GB and the 16GB version respectively. More here.

Solid gold Vertu Boucheron 150

With lots of planes and angles, the phone case has been crafted from a single piece of gold, and it took 1,000 hours to cut into shape, 700 hours to hand polish, and more than 500 hours to build. The phone is expected to sell for $30,000. More here.

Nokia 8800 Arte Pink

The Nokia 8800 Arte Pink by Peter Aloisson is the epitome of luxury. The handset touts 680 white and pink glistening diamonds in addition to coating the entire handset in gold. Priced at €85,000. More here.

Gresso White Diamonds Collection

The Gresso White Diamonds Collection features inherit hand-assembled body panels made out of 200-year old African blackwood, keyboards with base plate made of titanium and stainless steel battery cover with a magnetic lock plus leather and gold decoration. Priced at 9000 Euros. More here.

Knalihs Athem’s Nokia 8800 Sapphire

Only 20 units of the Knalihs Athem Diamond encrusted Nokia 8800 Saphire Arte were put into production. There are 1000 diamonds that weigh 6.75 carats placed on the Nokia 8800. Pricing starts from $20,000. More here.

Softbank 823SH Tiffany phone

The Softbank 823SH Tiffany phone comes encrusted with 537 (18.34 carat) diamonds. The glittering phone will retail for 12.98 million yen, which comes out to approximately US $132,140. More here.

Diamond-studded Nokia E90

The Nokia E90 by Peter Aloisson has been festooned with 408 diamonds and an 18 carat white gold shell. Moreover, a total of 9.86 carats of VVSI–IF (LC) diamonds have been used to beautify the rim of the phone. Youirs for 52,000 Euros. More here.

Peter Aloisson’s Princess Plus

The custom iPhone, called Princess Plus, has half of its 318 diamonds in the bedazzling square princess cut while the total weight of the stones came down to 17.75. There is an 18K white gold lining around the edge of the phone. Yours for a cool $176,400. More here.

Amosu Ultimo Diamond

Perfectly set with 1179 dazzling 16.18 carat diamonds, the Amosu Ultimo Diamond iPhone is handcrafted by skilled craftsmen using only the most exceptional materials. This exclusive Ultimo Diamond iPhone features 458 diamonds caked around the flat-front face. While the rear bottom case is made of 18 carat solid white gold encrusted with 660 diamonds. Priced at £89,000. More here.

[via CellPhoneBeat]