Obsession Aphrodite Collection from Continental Mobile

Continental Mobiles is a British-based mobile phone customization workshop offering `Bespoke British Tailoring for Luxury Mobile Phones` – a bit like `Pimp my Ride` for your mobile.

Your boring old mobile, for a hefty fee, can be refinished in a variety of luxury metals including 18 carat rose gold, 24 carat yellow gold and white platinum, and/or adorned with a huge range of jewels such as diamonds, rubies and emeralds. A popular enhancement, for example, is having the tiny Apple logo on the iPhone furnished with a cluster of tiny, flawless diamonds.

The Obsession Aphrodite Collection, described on the Continental website as `inspired by the Greek goddess of love- sculpted and touched by the beauty of her name`, are the two phones designed from scratch by Continental – as you might expect, they are designed with a penchant for the aesthetic.

Available as either a 18 carat white gold or 24 carat yellow gold version, the `Aphrodite is studded with strings of hand-set 2.1 carat cultured diamonds that weave their way around the handset, and the rear is adorned by elegant, hand-stitched leather.

By way of features, the phones do not offer much more than the practical – it has a camera and a music player, but neither stand out as anything other than ordinary. The only notably high-end features are the Enhanced Acoustics Technology, which makes phone calls ultra-clear and audible, and the dual SIM capability (so business and personal numbers can be kept on different cards).

As you can imagine, however, this phone`s selling point is not its features, but its unrivalled style and beauty. Visually, they are a wonder to behold, and grab the attention perhaps more than any other phone on the planet – truly a design masterpiece.

Expect to pay for such beauty. The white gold, 18 carat version retails at £1,199, while its 24 carat yellow gold sibling costs two hundred more at £1,399.

Information and opinion relating to this product were provided by Thomas Newton of Mobile Phones.