Gold mobile phone sells for $1.3m

A Belgian mobile phone manufacturer has sold the world's most expensive phone, costing around $1.3 million (£669,000).

The handset, which is made of 18-carat white gold and comes encrusted with around 1,800 diamonds, was bought by a Russian businessman for his wife.

And the phone, created by Geneva-based GoldVish, is to go on show at the annual Baselworld jewellery and watch show in Basel, Switzerland, next month.

Gold mobile phones are nothing new, but many manufacturers are trying to outdo themselves in terms of 'bling'. Vertu, a subsidiary of Nokia, specialises in custom made mobile phone handsets and last year sold a limited-edition series of eight handsets costing $310,000 and consisting of ruby snakes coiled round an 18-carat gold case.

But while gold and jewels are still seen as the height of luxury on mobile phones, one firm in Norway has diversified into several bizarre materials for its phones.

Bellperre's handsets are made from leather, steel, gold, hardwood, sapphire and other materials – but no plastic.