Don’t call it a cell phone: if anything, it’s a jewel that also has the advantage of letting you chat with friends. Or of keeping your Facebook page updated. The idea of a smartphone-jewel is from the Italian-American Alessandro Savelli, 34 years old. His jewelry and watch company, which has roots in Italy and is based in Geneva, has designed a device that inside is a classic touch-screen phone. But the Savelli brand, which has chosen to be based in Switzerland also for its proximity to high-end watchmaking companies, has done more: it has created a line of smartphones, Jardin Sĕcret, with white and pink gold, emeralds, diamonds, gems and refined leathers.
The phone has an Android operating system and 32 GB of memory, enough to store a lot of photos and music. But above all, it is noticeable. The first collection, presented two years ago, included 11 models. The reception has been encouraging, because behind the technology there is high-quality craftsmanship. For the processing of the stones and the setting, for example, Savelli uses the Geneva laboratory that makes high-end watches for Chanel. The Diamond Rain model, for example, is in green python skin, rose gold and white gold, with 144 brilliant-cut white diamonds set in it (about 1.62 carats). The prices? They are like jewels: the basic models cost around 7 thousand euros, while the more expensive ones go up to 20-40 thousand euros. Up to 100 thousand pounds (120 thousand euros) paid by a lady from Azerbaijan, who spotted the phone in the windows of the Harrods department store in London, where the jewel-phone is distributed (while in Milan it is located on Via Verri at the corner of Via Monte Napoleone). For 2015, when the phones will also have a new software release, the company expects to sell around 200.
