The independently owned subsidiary offers handmade cell phones that carry price tags of more than $20,000.

Vertu launched yesterday in Paris amidst the fanfare of the couture shows, an ideal setting in which to showcase over-the-top indulgences like cell phones cased in platinum with sapphire crystal glass screens.

After enjoying a period of astonishing growth, cell phone sales have dropped off recently and Nokia hopes the Vertu brand will create a new high-end luxury market for its wares.

For now, the phones are available only at "private client suites" in London, New York, Los Angeles, Singapore and Hong Kong.

In May, Vertu will open a boutique in Paris with more to follow in other cities.

The first set of Vertu phones includes five models: platinum, 18-carat gold, white gold and two different stainless steel options.

Future incarnations may be adorned with precious stones, but for now the phones make do with sapphire crystal faces made by the same Swiss company responsible for Rolex watches and luxurious leather strips that you may recognize from the seats on your Rolls Royce.

The London-based company employs 200 people worldwide. Its creative director, Frank Nuovo, head of design at Nokia since 1995, has been praised for fashioning phones that are among the industry's most coveted.

Nuovo stresses, though, that the new phones are "not an aesthetic covering of an existing product." They are just as dazzling on the inside as they are on the outside, incorporating high-quality antennae, microphones and displays. Best of all, they can be updated as technology improves without disturbing the handcrafted casings.

Other amenities include the Vertu Concierge service, which caters to international travelers who need only touch a key on the side of the phone to be connected to a team of operators with travel and entertainment information.

With a price tag that rivals many automobiles, the Vertu phone is definitely one you want to hang on to.

Luckily, another London-based company, Vexed Generation, is already working on a range of bags and accessories designed to counter mobile phone theft.

The streetwear label is collaborating with Central St. Martin's Design Council to create the line, scheduled to launch this spring after it is tested by self-protection groups and critiqued by London's police force.