HTC One Gold Joins Long List of Exclusive Smartphones

By Nathan Eddy

The most exclusive and expensive smartphone ever created by the company has a value of about $4,400, and only five will be made. To achieve the luxury look, the zero-gap unibody of the One on the front and back is plated in 18-carat gold—24 carats indicate pure gold.

The Gold HTC One includes all the performance of the standard One handset, including BlinkFeed, Zoe and BoomSound. The One was developed with a major emphasis on unique hardware and software features, including a unibody aluminum frame, a 1080p full-HD display, dual front-facing stereo speakers, a camera with a custom image sensor and the ability to automatically generate montages of media.

Goldgenie’s iPhone 5S is offered in five styles, including Swarovski sides, top, bottom and logo embellished in either 24-carat Gold, Rose Gold or Platinum. Due to high demand for the iPhone 5s, all orders will take up to 28 days to be delivered, the company noted.

As an added bonus, Goldgenie’s iPhone 5S gold editions—which cost more than $4,000—come packaged in a deluxe Cherry Oak finished box. You know, for all the times you aren’t actually using your phone because you’re terrified of dropping it. Or having it stolen. Or forgetting it at the bar. Or in your private jet.

While the company may be in deep trouble, BlackBerry picked a winner with auto design legend Porsche, which put together this P’9981 smartphone. It includes a premium forged stainless steel frame; rich, genuine leather backing; a wide iconic BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard; and a large, luxurious full-touch screen.

A Lamborghini that runs Google Android? You bet. For a measly $2,750, you could own the Lamborghini TL700, designed by the legendary supercar design company. The smartphone is manufactured with gold and crocodile skin and is as typically loud (stylewise, anyway) as the four-wheeled beasts the automaker sells.

High-end watch manufacturer Tag Heuer has also jumped into the luxury smartphone market with the Link, which comes with something called an Autolock System Door and shockproof construction. The Android-powered device boasts a 3.5-inch screen, and brilliant cut diamonds—974 of them—adorn the front housing, sides, back cover and crown.

Each Constellation handset is handmade in England by a single craftsman and is swathed in luxurious calf leather, carefully selected for its exquisite feel and natural grain from one of Europe’s oldest tanneries. Designed to match moods, seasons and discerning tastes, Constellation is available in five elegant colors.

Hand-assembled in France, this ultra-luxury smartphone features the distinctive Dior cannage design, which was intricately embellished with 18-carat white gold and 1,539 diamonds, and inlaid with 46 pieces of iridescent mother-of-pearl. Oh, and it will set you back $107,000, just in case you were wondering.

It seems luxury carmakers just can’t resist producing high-end smartphones. This Mobiado handset—the Gold Mother of Pearl edition, anyway—features 139 carats of sapphire crystal, gunmetal black stainless steel screws and a 4-inch display. James Bond would be envious.