Latest Nokia phone costs £15,000

Nokia's luxury mobile phone unit, Vertu, today launches the first of its range of designer phones, costing E24,000 (£14,800) each.

The phone is cased in platinum, with a sapphire crystal glass screen and sound that promises to be "as clear as a Mozart symphony", according to the company.

The phone will go on sale in some of the most exclusive stores in the US, Asia and Europe in the middle of this year.

Vertu is an independently-run company operating within Nokia.

Nokia was the first company to recognise the role that the phone would play as a fashion item, but this strategy initially targeted the teen market, with innovations such as press-on covers.

With Vertu, the company is expanding its strategy of personalisation and strong design values for the high end of the market.

Ben Wood, analyst at Gartner, said: "The mobile terminal market is increasingly becoming a replacement market, and design and brand value are very important factors in choosing replacement handsets."

"Nokia's not just interested in phones encrusted with jewels, it's looking at materials like brushed steel and brushed aluminium for the executive market too."

However, Nokia's shares have fallen 18 per cent in the past two weeks after investment bank Morgan Stanley cuts its ratings of Nokia stocks. The company is due to announce its earnings on Thursday.