Handmade in England: how Vertu is made - the most expensive smartphones in the world
Manual assembly, quality control and an individual approach to each client are the three pillars on which the production of the most expensive smartphones in the world is based.
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1. It is not easy to get into the territory of the enterprise in Church-Crookham, Hampshire in England: the security here is reliable, as if they are engaged here not in the production of mobile phones, but in something very secret and insanely strategically important.
2. A barrier awaits the curious, through which only employees and customers are allowed to enter. The latter, by the way, are allowed a lot. For example, personally oversee the assembly of your phone.
3. A bit of history. Selling technically not the most advanced phones at a price of at least three dozen ordinary ones was invented by Nokia. There were many skeptics convinced of the futility of such an idea. However, at the turn of the 2000s, the process, as they say, began. Those who wanted to buy a phone for completely obscene money turned out to be enough.
4. By the way, the first Signature model is still being produced. Their conservative owners are not at all interested in the opinion of those who consider push-button phones, to put it mildly, an outdated solution. Because Vertu to this day is one of the material components of the owner's image. Or a symbol of immoderate consumption - as you like.
5. The first full-fledged Vertu Ti smartphone appeared only in February 2013. Quad-core Signature Touch in July 2014. So at first glance, Vertu is hopelessly behind other manufacturers. But only at first glance: for obvious reasons, Vertu simply does not count on geeks who enthusiastically follow progress, and teenagers who are worried that "the new toy is not going even". At the forefront is an individual approach to each client. And of course, manual assembly. Designer models of other phones are also expensive. But only Vertu managed to put luxury on stream.
6. It's hard to believe, but even electronic components are connected to each other without the help of automation. This does not mean that Vertu despise new technologies: it is simply believed that the assembly line cannot, in principle, give such build quality.
7. The tools used by the craftsmen are also suitable for assembling good Swiss watches.
8. The air in the workshop where the screens are assembled is renewed every four hours so that not a single speck of dust accidentally gets under the screen.
9. Church-Crookham does not manufacture Vertu from beginning to end: both electronic components and case materials are ordered from other manufacturers. They also did not invent their own operating system: Android KitKat. Moreover, the installation of the OS takes place in two stages - first, a special test system is loaded, and only then - Android and proprietary software.
10. Precious metals and diamonds are not used in base Vertu. Although the body materials are also not cheap. For example, alligator skin. Or sapphire glass screen. Very wealthy clients, of course, will not be denied here, and almost everything is possible on an individual order. Do you want a platinum case? No problem. Every whim for your money.
11. The master assembles Vertu from ready-made parts. You can make a mistake only if you try very hard - the process is painted very clearly.
12. At the final stage, the operation of each phone is checked in a separate workshop.
13. The final chord is the application of a serial number to each device, the signature of the master who assembled it, the company logo and the slogan Handmade in England. After that, you can pack the finished product.
14. The new model of Vertu smartphones is expected to appear in autumn 2015.
Keywords: England | Smartphone