Originally announced on June 14, 2012, Nokia have just finished selling Vertu to private equity group, EQT VI. Vertu is a retailer of luxury mobile phones that was an independently-run division of Nokia. About 1,000 employees transferred with Vertu as part of the transaction.

Vertu Constellation became official today. It will be a Symbian device with touchscreen and a 4,400 Euro price tag. If you like, you can go for the ‘Red Gold Mixed Metals’ variant for 10,900 Euros. My wallet can’t afford it, but it will sell. If you haven’t heard, Vertu is owned by Nokia. They’re actually doing pretty well.

We’ve been hearing bad news about Nokia’s marketshare, but did you know their luxury division, Vertu, continues to succeed? According to Businessweek, Vertu has seen “high double-digit sales growth” since the beginning of 2010. While Nokia cut 7,000 employees to reduce costs, Vertu’s staff increased by over 50 percent since 2009.

Sybarites.org, an interesting community for people who enjoy the finer things in life, shares their first impression of the Vertu Constellation. The weight is very noticeable, but they note that weight can portray good quality to some people. Since not that many people are fortunate enough to own this device, I am looking forward to their upcoming review of the concierge service, which is included in all Vertu phones.