Gresso gussies up iPhone 4 with rare wooden veneer

From the front it looks like any other iPhone 4, but flip it around and a glint might catch your eye -- that's the doing of Russian technology tailor Gresso, who's embedded Swarovski crystals and an 18-karat golden Apple logo in a sheet of African Blackwood attached to the device. As usual, one wonders why anyone would bother, but honestly we can't complain -- the design is worlds more tasteful than the solid gold and diamond-encrusted contraptions we're used to seeing. Expect the dainty dillantante to arrive in December at a surprisingly reasonable $3,500, or $3,000 for the male-targeted version at right. Of course, if you've got that kind of money to spend, you want one now, right? Good news: the iPhone 3GS gets the same luxurious treatment -- and price -- in July.

[Thanks, Bob]

[DoctarPeppar Posted Jun 30th 2010 10:41AM]

Lame.

[Lexis Posted Jun 30th 2010 10:46AM]

@Sean Hollister
Please come up with some functional cases the most of us can actually afford.

[ruby Posted Jun 30th 2010 10:47AM]

@DoctarPeppar

you wont even be able to see this with a fat ugly bumper on it... which is recommended by apple

[Khris Posted Jun 30th 2010 10:58AM]

@ruby Evidently you have no idea what one of the bumpers even looks like while on the iPhone, so why not stay quiet and only be thought an idiot instead of opening your mouth and removing all doubt!

[MichaelJJackson Posted Jun 30th 2010 11:01AM]

I think it looks very nice

[Revolutionary Posted Jun 30th 2010 11:07AM]

@MichaelJJackson

This is my personal opinion, glass may be nice, but putting it in the back of the phone is a complete joke. If you ask me, I think plastic is better for the behind, because glass shatters, plastic don't. If not, why don't we go back to the aluminium design.

[jahkamren Posted Jun 30th 2010 11:07AM]

@MichaelJJackson

See this is a great example...

"OH I LIKE IT"

"THAT'S NICE"

"I WANT ONE"

"KINDA COOL"

What ever happend to getting a phone because it works?!

DAM AT LEAST BE ABLE TO HOLD IT RIGHT!?

GOD BLESS US!

[DoctarPeppar Posted Jun 30th 2010 11:09AM]

@jahkamren
Shut the fuck up!

[jahkamren Posted Jun 30th 2010 11:12AM]

@DoctarPeppar

Dam what's your problem? you work for apple? or your frustrated because you have the iPhone 4?

[huzzlehoff Posted Jun 30th 2010 11:17AM]

@DoctarPeppar

"As usual, one wonders why anyone would bother"

If there's something rare, some upstarts will buy it, no matter how ugly the product.

[BerkleyBerkley2011 Posted Jun 30th 2010 11:26AM]

@DoctarPeppar Lame, and doesn't fix its gayness

[huzzlehoff Posted Jun 30th 2010 11:40AM]

@huzzlehoff

I didn't want to use the Russian upstarts card, but because I saw it's made by Russian technology tailor, I just had to. sorry.

[atourgates Posted Jun 30th 2010 12:14PM]

@Lexis Yeah - actually I really like the "Man" version's wood back. And it certainly wouldn't cost anything like $3,000 to produce a nice wood veneer to put on the back of your iPhone. StealthArmor sells a faux-wood back that looks fairly similar for $45 (with an insulting $15 shipping fee) at http://www.fusionofideas.com/stealtharmor-iphone4.html - and Schtickers makes veneers from actual wood that cover your entire laptop and sells 'em for just $29 - http://www.schtickers.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=72

I really like the look of wood - (that's what she said) - but haven't been able to find any real-wood veneer cases for the iPhone IV - at least not in the sub-$3,000 range.

[masochist Posted Jun 30th 2010 12:41PM]

Solution for death grip?

[Cainhunpi Posted Jun 30th 2010 10:41AM]

Does this fix the antenna issue? Don't think so

[loadoftoad Posted Jun 30th 2010 10:42AM]

You're holding it wrong ...

[bighap Posted Jun 30th 2010 10:42AM]

If you can afford to buy something this pointless I hate you.

[atourgates Posted Jun 30th 2010 12:18PM]

@bighap also worth hating the fact that they're contributing to a harmful practice.

From Wikipedia: "Due to overuse, the mpingo [African Blackwood] tree is severely threatened in Kenya and needing attention in Tanzania and Mozambique. The trees are being harvested at an unsustainable rate, partly because of illegal smuggling of the wood into Kenya, but also because the tree takes upwards of 60 years to mature."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Blackwood

[hero785 Posted Jun 30th 2010 10:42AM]

That's nice!

[meshack Posted Jun 30th 2010 10:45AM]

@hero785 I like it too! I wouldn't mind a cheep knock-off that looked the same.

[hero785 Posted Jun 30th 2010 11:06AM]

@meshack
I assume that KIRFs don't have antenna issues or they have external, pullout antennas like old days. if so then KIRFs are the alternatives to the real thing or Droid X!

[rhomaion Posted Jun 30th 2010 10:43AM]

Dropping 2x the calls in style! Yeah!

[lcw Posted Jun 30th 2010 10:44AM]

kinda cool

[Vulcan Posted Jun 30th 2010 10:45AM]

What is this? Apple-pornography? There is nothing else but the minimalistic design in iPhone 4. If you take that away, what have you got? An yellow-screened, antenna crippled MP3 player with problematic proximity sensor and no customer service (just denying the antenna problems to save Apples hard earned cash)

[aforty Posted Jun 30th 2010 10:53AM]

I want one!

[Marko Posted Jun 30th 2010 10:55AM]

But, will it scratch?
Will it blend!?!?

[sspirate Posted Jun 30th 2010 10:56AM]

I like wood.

[jahkamren Posted Jun 30th 2010 11:01AM]

@sspirate

That's what she said.

[SilverSurfer Posted Jun 30th 2010 10:58AM]

No matter how good it looks, I can't help but cringe every time I see them grooves on the sides...

[Poita Posted Jun 30th 2010 11:00AM]

Here in Korea I think the media is having an impact. People in Asian countries tend to view the printed or broadcast word as gospel and the reports of faulty iphone4’s are influencing purchase/contract choices a bit.
I have a friend who just bought an iphone 3Gs this week. I asked her why she didn’t wait a bit and get an iphone 4 and she told me it was because the media said they were faulty.

[Yemble Posted Jun 30th 2010 11:07AM]

Rare wood? No thanks.

[GoodToGo Posted Jun 30th 2010 11:09AM]

I rather spend it on booze and blow..

[sergery Posted Jun 30th 2010 11:46AM]

@GoodToGo
Don't forget the hookers

[Rob PRO Posted Jun 30th 2010 11:09AM]

That's my background!!!

[xler8r Posted Jun 30th 2010 11:14AM]

I hate this phone, but nicely done, looks shwank

[XanInfinity Posted Jun 30th 2010 11:43AM]

I love how this company stole my picture.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xaninfinity/4630473157/

[atourgates Posted Jun 30th 2010 12:04PM]

@XanInfinity Ok - normally I would say - great, free publicity! But somehow a company that bedazzles iPhones for $3,000 rubs me the wrong way. I say sue the sons-of-bitches.

[marblewonder Posted Jun 30th 2010 2:36PM]

@XanInfinity there's no way that's actually your picture. i've seen that photo everywhere. Google "new york city wallpaper" and it's one of the first results. If it was actually your picture, you'd have more than just this company to worry about when it came to stealing it...

[tekdemon Posted Jun 30th 2010 8:18PM]

@marblewonder I don't really see how showing up in google results precludes it from being anybody's work, but it does seem curious that a photo that's very clearly this Brazilian guy's work would be on XanInfinity's Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulobar/230134559/
They're clearly not the same guy if you look at their profiles, and XanInfinity's information for the photo is totally bogus since his Flickr claims that it was taken in 2008 even though Paulo Barcellos had uploaded it back in 2006. I'm not sure why someone would try to pass off other people's photos as their own, but that's pretty damned lame.

[bandsaw Posted Jun 30th 2010 12:46PM]

Well, at least it looks nice. Ha

[Addyct Posted Jun 30th 2010 12:55PM]

This is the first super expensive luxury phone I would ACTUALLY buy if I were rich and had the cash to.
I mean, that looks amazing, seriously.

[bleep Posted Jun 30th 2010 1:17PM]

I would want to see a real picture rather than a render before I put down my money or my iphone for this.

[Thorolf Posted Jun 30th 2010 1:17PM]

Has anybody actually noticed that this is either plastic, or photoshopped? The wood grain between the two is identical.

[bleep Posted Jun 30th 2010 1:21PM]

@Thorolf
Yep. Notice my comment. Must see real pic before destroying an iphone.

[angelnilo06 Posted Jun 30th 2010 1:41PM]

Imagine losing that. Ouch!

[icon808 Posted Jun 30th 2010 4:52PM]

Nothing like a good wood... You can ask my wife...

[inutopia Posted Jul 5th 2010 7:21PM]

@icon808
I am your wife, and you haven't ever given me a good wood.

[icon808 Posted Jul 5th 2010 10:17PM]

@inutopia
You forgot on our anniversary....gave u an exotic Bubinga" wood... It's very hard grained and the color doesn't darken with age.... Lol

[Mike V Posted Jun 30th 2010 9:20PM]

I like this, but not with the crystals or the Apple logo.

I don't get why people like logos on everything?

[idrinkfanta Posted Jul 1st 2010 2:14AM]

@Mike V

very much agreed
im sure there will be great cases out soon for iphone 4 that will be made out of wood!