Reuters has a story about a Danish maker of very high end cell phones called Aesir. Their first product is a solid gold cell phone that has no other functions. The phones are priced at $57,000 and aimed at wealthy Russians who have staff to handle their date book (and email, it would seem.) But we quote it here not to comment on luxury phones but because Contemporary art runs like a thread through the entire (short) story revealing an even greater level of art mania among the Russian rich than has been previously assumed:
“Moscow is becoming a booming contemporary art city. At first people here had only money but now they have style. Their spending is more intellectual and sophisticated,” said Mathias Rajani, Aesir’s chief commercial officer. […]
Russia’s ultra-rich may well plunk down thousands to flaunt Aesir’s gold mobiles, art-market investment expert Natalia Legotina said. But she doubted the phones would become collector’s items.
“It could find a place in the Russian market but definitely not in the cultural elite circles, which favour new smart-phone models,” said Legotina, the Moscow representative of British consultancy Art Market Research. […]
“This phone is amazing – the innovations behind it are also great,” said Russian tycoon Vadim Dymov, who owns a meat-packing plants in Moscow and has several conceptual art projects.
