Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- David Beckham has one. So do Catherine Deneuve and Beyonce Knowles.

The precious object is a cell phone from Nokia Oyj's Vertu luxury division, whose offerings start at $4,350 for stainless- steel versions and soar to $310,000 for bejeweled ones. They include a button that connects the caller to a round-the-clock, multilingual concierge service, which costs an additional $2,000 annually after a free first year.

Other companies are also marketing luxury cell phones aimed at jet-setters, celebrities and others who are willing to pay big bucks to stay connected in style.

Denmark's Bang & Olufsen just started selling its first mobile phone in North America, a $1,275 Serene clamshell with speed-adjustable ring tones that sound like steel, brass and wood. It can be accessorized with a specially designed $750 Louis Vuitton pouch.

Dolce & Gabbana's $595 gold-colored Motorazr phone, advertised in the December issue of Vogue magazine with a two- page spread featuring fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, is available at the Italian design house's Madison Avenue boutique and other swank locations.

And Tag Heuer, the Swiss watchmaking company owned by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, reportedly plans to unveil a $1,000- plus mobile unit next year.

`Personal Branding'

Though they still make up only 2 percent of the U.S. cell- phone market, some high-end units (costing more than $250) are selling so fast that there are waiting lists. Mobile units costing between $100 and $250 constitute 18 percent of the U.S. market, said Roger Entner, an analyst in the Boston office of Ovum PLC, a technology research company.

About 175 million cell phones, in more than 100 styles, are sold annually in the U.S., Entner said. Demand for luxury phones also is expanding outside the U.S., especially in the fast- growing markets of Russia, China and the Middle East.

``They aren't just something for you to make calls anymore,'' Mark McClusky, products editor for Wired magazine, said in a telephone interview. ``They are an accessory and a piece of personal branding. People are trying to find something that makes you stand out in the crowd.''

Vertu President Alberto Torres said the company, based in Church Crookham, England, expects to sell ``hundreds of thousands'' of luxury phones within five years.

``Whenever you have a consumer item, you have a luxury segment,'' Torres said. ``You have luxury cars, luxury clothes, luxury hotels -- why not luxury phones?''

Gem-Encrusted Phones

The fancy phones generally are compatible with Cingular and T-Mobile's GSM wireless networks in the U.S. and can also be used in Europe and Asia. Another option is Voce, which bills itself as the ``world's first premium wireless service.'' The company, which charges $200 a month for domestic calls along with a one- time $500 membership fee, sells phones and services at its own boutique in Beverly Hills as well as a handful of Neiman Marcus Group Inc. stores in California and Las Vegas.

Vertu's third line of luxury cell phones, Constellation, is arriving in stores now. Aimed at the frequent flyer, the phones come with real-time flight, weather and currency trackers. It joins the Signature line, which was inspired by the ``grand complications'' of timepieces, and the Ascent line, featuring phones named after famous auto-racing tracks like Le Mans. All Vertu phones have e-mail but no cameras.

A stainless-steel and leather Constellation phone sells for $4,350, while an 18-carat-gold and leather version goes for $18,000. For $86,000, you can get a Signature gold phone with diamond baguette keys. Vertu's most expensive versions are the gem-encrusted ones designed by the Parisian jeweler Boucheron. Only eight Signature Cobra models have been made, costing $310,000 each; there are also 26 Signature Pythons, at $115,000 apiece.

`New Age Scepter'

Vertu operates new lounges at Nokia stores on 57th Street in Manhattan and North Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Its phones also are sold at Tourneau Inc. stores, along with shops in Moscow, Hong Kong and Dubai.

Alexandre Scialom, a 28-year-old marketing director in San Francisco, recently checked out the Vertu phones at the New York store. Scialom said he wouldn't buy one because they don't have more functions. Still, he was impressed, calling the phones a ``New Age scepter of power'' that satisfy the ``need to communicate and be fabulous.''

Bang & Olufsen began pre-selling Serene in the U.S. last month, timing the launch for the holiday season. The phone arrives in stores on Dec. 11. It has been available in Europe for a year and will be sold in Asia early next year.

Kim Gravesen, president of Bang & Olufsen America, said the company worked with Samsung Electronics Co. to create an easy-to- use model for its customers, who tend to be both affluent and design-oriented.

Gold Eel Case

The Serene phone opens and closes itself slowly like an oyster. The screen is on the bottom, reducing the problem of make-up smear. Its features include a camera and e-mail.

``It is undisturbing,'' Gravesen said.

Dolce & Gabbana's Motorazr V3i, made by Motorola Inc., features the engraved logo of the design house and a pendant with ``DG'' initials. A package that includes a Bluetooth headset and shiny gold eelskin case costs $900.

Wired's McClusky urges consumers to keep such luxury phones in perspective.

``At the end of the day, it's a piece of electronics,'' he said. ``It doesn't define you as a person.''

For more information on Vertu phones, see http://www.vertu.com. For more on Voce, see http://www.voce.com.

To contact the reporter on this story: Cotten Timberlake in New York at ctimberlake@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 8, 2006 11:36 EST