Two years ago, a Nokia subsidiary called Vertu introduced the world's first luxury cell phone. The Vertu Signature became popular with celebs — Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, Tom Ford and David Beckham all own them — but for mere mortals, even ones who drive Mercedes-Benzes and own plasma TVs, the price tag (from $5,750 to $26,550) could be daunting. While Signature remains its flagship, Vertu is launching Ascent this April, a model with styling and price a wee bit closer to Planet Earth.

As you might expect, the $3,850 Ascent has class. Lightweight at six ounces, it's got a balanced heft you might associate with a well-made handgun. It's made of ceramic, stainless steel and a durable alloy called Liquidmetal, finished with hand-sewn leather and a screen of sapphire crystal, a material second only to diamond in hardness. More masculine than the slender, elongated Signature, Ascent is a fit for men who collect cars and wear watches by Breitling or Jaeger-LeCoultre.

Surprisingly, the Ascent is not for technophiles of any kind, not even those of elevated financial status. Like Signature, the Ascent was designed with simplicity in mind. To the designers, that meant leaving out anything that might possibly confuse the owner, including perks commonly found in much cheaper phones like Bluetooth wireless for hands-free headsets and voice-operated systems like the one in the 2004 Acura TL, or a browser for checking e-mail, weather or movie times. You can send SMS messages, but there's no way to take and send photos and other multimedia files.

To make up for at least some of those shortcomings, the phone comes with a free year of Vertu Concierge service. (After a year, the service will charge an annual fee, but pricing has yet to be determined.) Instead of checking movie times on the phone, you just press a button and a human does it for you. These London-based "global advisers" are available at all hours of the day or night, and can handle travel and entertainment arrangements as well as "international assistance" worldwide. They will not, however, read you your e-mail.

A note: Vertu doesn't provide the actual phone service. In the United States, you'd have to subscribe to one of the GSM carriers — AT&T Wireless, Cingular or T-Mobile — and then use the SIM card associated with that account.