How to highlight your originality with your smartphone? A few years ago, some downloaded the most fashionable ringtones, today others express their creativity through colorful silicone cases. At Caviar, personalization reaches a whole new level. Diamonds, solid gold, titanium or even meteorites, this Russian company turns simple phones into collectibles, which it sometimes resells for several hundred thousand dollars.
Serguey Kitov, the founder and CEO of Caviar, says the origins of his extravagant business can be traced back to a vacation stay at a five-star hotel. As he chatted with a group of Kazakh businessmen, he noticed that they each owned two phones: an iPhone and a Vertu, one of the first brands to explore the luxury phone market in the early 2000s. " They couldn't do without Vertu because it showed their status, but they also liked Apple's technology , ”he explains. In 2011, he therefore launched Caviar, a company that directly sells the latest models from Apple or Samsung, after having adorned them with more or less fine jewelry.
Marvel, Steve Jobs and Bethlehem
Other brands have since made the same bet, but Caviar is distinguished above all by the singularity of the collections imagined. A few months ago, for example, the company unveiled the Cyberphone, an iPhone 11 Pro in titanium with a design inspired by the Cybertruck, the futuristic vehicle developed by Tesla. With a foldable protection that can be used as a stand, the basic version costs $ 6,800, compared to nearly $ 18,000 for the “Billionnaire” model, which features several gold inlays.
On the brand's website, each page has its share of eccentricities. Football legends, Marvel heroes, the Game Of Thrones series ... Many emblematic figures of pop culture are immortalized on the shiny smartphones of Caviar, adorned with metals each more precious than the next. The Superior range goes even further in originality, by embellishing its devices with pieces of clothing that belonged to Steve Jobs, Mohammed Ali or the Beatles. Another collection even promises fragments of Mars, the Moon or the Titanic. “ Before launching a new product, we always look to determine current trends and customer expectations. We do not create collections of smartphones, but dreams which probe the depths of the human soul, ”assures Sergey Kitov.
Caviar has developed the Superior range for "
those who wish to touch history and be part of it ". Caviar
Special mention for the iPhone “Credo Christmas Star Diamond”, where a three-carat diamond acts as a star of Bethlehem illuminating a nativity scene. Available for a whopping $ 126,230, it's the site's most expensive product, though the CEO acknowledges some customers pay up to twice as much for special customizations.
The “jewel” of the Caviar site, which according to legend announces “a brilliant new year”. Caviar
An assumed nationalism
To sell its products, Caviar does not hesitate to assert its Russian identity and to vibrate the patriotic cord. The company recently released a special collection to commemorate “the great Russian victories” of WWII. Since 2015, it has also frequently marketed different versions of gold-plated smartphones bearing the effigy of Vladimir Putin, to celebrate " the astonishing period of growth and prosperity that Russia is going through under the leadership of our president" , as the legend of the last model. On the brand's YouTube channel, several (rather old) videos extol the merits of the Russian president, detailing " why he is better than Obama " or wishing him a happy birthday. An iPhone with the likeness of Donald Trump was also produced, but it is now out of stock.
A smartphone which celebrates the “golden age” of Vladimir Putin. Caviar
If Caviar does not communicate on the amount of its turnover, the CEO says that its products are sold on all continents, with a majority of customers coming from Russia, India, China, South Korea and South Korea. 'Saudi Arabia. She also counts among her faithful the actor Steven Seagal, the singer of Limp Bizkit Fred Durst or the boxer Roy Jones. Sales to abroad are however for the moment impossible, due to restrictions linked to the Covid-19 epidemic. Not enough to weaken the morale of Serguey Kitov, who is already preparing to customize iPhones 12, and plans to soon add sneakers, t-shirts and caps to the list of rutting accessories offered on the Caviar site. Despite the economic crisis, bling-bling still has a bright future ahead of it.
