UK-based costly smartphone brand Vertu is closing down and nearly 200 people will lose their jobs as a result of the company’s liquidation.
The company recently faced financial difficulties and will be liquidated after a plan to save it failed, BBC reported. “It’s gone into liquidation and I’m not being paid by them anymore,” a spokesman for the firm was quoted as saying.
The luxury smartphone brand struggled to find a customer base for its $46,600 polished 18-carat red gold phones.
The media report said past few years for the makers of the jewel-encrusted cellphones have been tumultuous, and all the $1,200 Vertu Grape Lizard Slip Cases in the world were not enough to save the company from its financial troubles.
Nokia founded Vertu in 1998 and was sold the brand in 2012. In 2013, Vertu switched from using Nokia’s Symbian operating system to Google’s Android anticipating that it can attract more phone buyers.