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november 19, 2015 - Vertu

Vertu continues tradition of material innovation

Since the company’s inception, extraordinary materials have been a fundamental feature of a Vertu mobile phone. In 2002, when Vertu launched its first phone, Signature, its sapphire crystal screen, ruby bearings, fine calf leather and stainless steel chassis instantly differentiated it from the mass market. Vertu has continued to pioneer the use of innovative and high-performance materials ever since. Now, with luxury technology more relevant than ever before, Vertu continues to lead the field, with rivals finding themselves unable to match Vertu’s success in delivering the marriage of state of the art technology, world-class design and craftsmanship and pioneering, luxurious materials. Today, with the launch of Vertu Aster Yosegi Wood, materials expertise continues to differentiate Vertu products from every other technology brand.

Vertu Aster Yosegi Wood
Yosegi woodcraft is a form of traditional Japanese marquetry which originated over 200 years ago during Japan’s culturally rich Edo Period. Wooden strips made of Basswood dyed in different colours are carefully laminated together to form an oblong rod. Many rods are combined to form a large wooden block. The master craftsman then delicately shaves off a veneer layer, which showcases the intricate pattern that is characteristic of Yosegi.

To create the protective gloss finish on the veneer, up to six layers of lacquer are hand applied by master craftsman with repeated sanding and polishing, resulting in the exceptionally tough and beautiful glossy surface. This notoriously difficult and laborious process is shrouded in secrecy; only the most highly trained and dedicated Japanese craftsman are privilege to the nuances of the process.

Vertu’s triumph lies not only in facilitating the marriage of this revered and ancient Japanese craft with its quintessentially English smartphone, Aster, but in developing a method to apply Yosegi wood to the phone. These two achievements are a contemporary celebration of Vertu’s pioneering spirit in the realisation of new territories in design, materials and craftsmanship.

Head of Design, Hutch Hutchison drives material innovation at Vertu, working with both the R&D teams on implementing new materials in our products and the design team in exploring colours, materials and finishes for the many different Vertu variants. Hutch led the team that conceived and developed Aster Yosegi Wood. He said: “Extraordinary materials have always formed a fundamental part of the Vertu story. They differentiate our products from any other technology brand out there. But there are multiple challenges to overcome when using luxury materials on a mobile technology product. One issue is size; on a phone every 0.1mm counts. The technical functionality of the product itself is also something we need to keep in mind; we can't use conductive materials in most areas of the product as they could disturb the antenna performance. All our materials need to meet the difficult balance between a luxury look and feel, robustness and quality, after all, a mobile phone is used almost 24/7 so our devices have to be able to withstand a great deal; our quality standards for every material we use have to be extremely high.

“The idea to use wood for a special edition is kind of a natural progression to me: it is a luxury material, it is a natural growing resource, you can create beautiful patterns and designs with it… and it also fulfils all of our technical needs, it is light, non-conductive, strong and durable.”

There were however, several challenges to overcome in the Yosegi project. Hutch continued: “One of the main challenges of using the Yosegi wood veneer was to find a supplier that could deal with our expectations and work closely with us, someone who would have the technical expertise, while keeping the authentic craftsmanship element and achieve the luxury look and feel we wanted. To implement a Yosegi veneer on a flat surface is one thing, but to wrap it around the curves of this product, fit it perfectly under all the metal titanium parts and to get it to the exact thickness we needed, is another story. Yamaha Corporation, has been a great partner on this project for many reasons, first of all, they have a long experience of working with wood on luxury products, not only in car interiors, but also on their own musical instruments. They have the technology to achieve the fusion of the crafted piece with the phone and they are based in Japan, where the Yosegi craft as well as the lacquering has a history of centuries, they work together with some of the best craftsmen in the country and the things they have achieved with us and the way they have translated our design is fantastic.”

Conceiving a design for Aster Yosegi Wood and working with the Yosegi craftsmen to interpret it for the Aster was the next step. Vertu selected a Checkerboard (Ichimatsu-Ajiro) Yosegi pattern which combines traditional designs deriving from bamboo weaves and fishnets. This matches the current trend for woven materials which can be seen across all industries, from fashion accessories to interior design and architecture.

Hutch explained how the resulting design was achieved: “From the beginning it was very important to us to mix the natural appeal of this material and the craftsmanship with a very contemporary design. The colours are warm, but visually strong and within the woven pattern they form this lovely gradient that wraps around the phone from the darker bottom to the light top sound bar. The creation of the Yosegi wood veneer is a very intricate process. Every single line you see here in the material is actually a single piece of wood, laminated together to form a square rod. All of these rods together then form what we call the Yosegi block, which is made piece by piece to form the pattern. It takes about two months to create this block. The veneer is shaved off the top as a layer before being applied to the phone.”

The resulting limited edition Aster Yosegi Wood, of which only 50 have been produced, is a spectacular fusion of ancient Japanese and contemporary British craftsmanship and design.

Aster Yosegi Wood comes with a beige and black calf leather case. It is lined with luxurious suede leather and is adorned with an embossed pattern echoing the black lines of the pattern of the wood marquetry.

Aster Yosegi Wood, joins Calf, Ostrich, Stingray, Python, Alligator and Quilt in adorning Vertu Aster. Aster’s purposely minimalist styling makes it the perfect canvas for a more adventurous approach to the choice of material and colour, the addition of which can immediately dial up its masculine or feminine appeal and lend character and personality. In every iteration, the textural contrast of the handcrafted leather and beautifully finished titanium conspire to create contemporary design, relevant to consumers seeking a cleaner aesthetic. For a final flourish, Aster can also be personalised with a monogram* or engraving.

Its beauty of design and simplicity of use belie the cutting edge technology at its heart, which facilitates its seamless operation almost anywhere on the globe. Aster features Dolby® Digital Plus virtual surround sound and Hasselblad certified imaging, as well as Vertu’s full portfolio of services, which comprises Classic Concierge as well as Vertu LIFE and Vertu CERTAINTY packages. Together these features combine to create in Aster a rare and indispensable lifestyle accessory.

Performance
Vertu Aster delivers exceptional connectivity via its optimised antenna which enables access to high-speed data through quad-band GSM, 3G and LTE 4G capability. Aster’s facility to connect to 4G networks means that web pages load instantly and downloading a song takes mere seconds.

Six months’ complimentary access to unlimited, global Wi-Fi, at over 50 million hotspot locations, further enhances the Wi-Fi experience on your Aster.

Aster’s exceptional acoustic profile delivers flawless sound through Dolby® Digital Plus virtual surround sound. Call quality is assured via noise cancelling uplink and downlink and the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 2.3GHz 801 Quad-core processor delivers stunning speed. High quality, integrated front facing stereo speakers are tuned for an extraordinarily pure and rich acoustic experience without distortion in any environment.

In addition to promising exceptional sound via its hands free speakers, Vertu Aster can be effortlessly linked, via Bluetooth® v4.0 + LE and using CSR aptX® high quality encoded audio support, to the Vertu V Speaker (SP-1V), a powerful room filling wireless speaker.

Vertu has worked with Hasselblad, the world’s most renowned professional photography brand, to perfect the image tuning of the Aster camera. The Hasselblad-certified 13mp rear camera has a sapphire crystal lens and anti-reflection coating, while the front facing camera facilitates video calling. The 4.7” full HD display has a resolution of 473ppi and is protected by the 5.1” sapphire crystal screen.

Services
Aster ownership includes six months’ complimentary Classic Concierge service from a team of lifestyle managers available 24/7. Vertu Concierge is accessible via voice, email or Live Chat from anywhere in the world.

Vertu LIFE offers customers a personalised selection of exclusive privileges and unrestricted access to elite events, available directly on device. Features include complimentary entry to the most exclusive Private Members’ Clubs, spas and gyms around the world, access to invitation-only events and closed-door shopping experiences as well as recommendations based on your tastes and location.

Vertu CERTAINTY protects their Vertu phone and their data through best-in-class technology and expert partners. This includes encrypted communications, comprising voice calls, text and video, delivered in partnership with Silent Circle and complimentary to Aster owners for 12 months. A six month complimentary service provided by iPass offers unlimited access to secure WiFi globally via 18 million secure WiFi hotspots across 123 countries. Complimentary 12 month’s access to Kaspersky mobile security, including anti-virus and anti-theft protection protects the phone itself.