More than BD250,000 ($658,796) worth of gold-plated iPhone 6s have been shipped to Bahrain, a UK-based customisation specialist has revealed.

Goldgenie, which customises mobile phones, games consoles and other household items with gold, copper, nickel, chrome, platinum plating and jewels, has sold more than 180 of its luxury phones to Bahrain-based customers, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The most popular phone sold in Bahrain has been the Gold iPhone 6 Elite, which comes with a £2,637 (BD1,531/$4,059) price tag.

At the more premium end of the scale, two other models have been sold - the Supernova, in full back with 24 karat gold, rose gold or platinum embellishments and Swarovski-style crystals on the top, bottom, back and sides for £3,520 (BD2,044) and the similar-looking Swarovski Style Brilliance, which is encrusted with slightly fewer crystals for £2,927 (BD1,700).

“We have Gulf state editions of our phones which we engrave with the crest of GCC countries on the back,” a Goldgenie spokesman told the GDN.

“From our figures, we can reveal that we have shipped 180 of our devices to Bahrain or with the Bahrain engraving.

“Of those devices, a major chunk was purchased in one bulk order.

“The combined cost of the phones is just under half a million pounds.”

The spokesman said that as each new edition of the iPhone was released, their company witnessed a spike in orders for customised versions.

“People have been buying our phones since the iPhone 3 and as each edition is released the trust in the Apple brand increases and the trust in our products increase,” he said.

“iPhone users are very brand loyal and as those who purchased the previous versions usually get the latest model, it is the same with us, we have a lot of repeat customers as people are happy with our devices.”

He added that most highly-customised phones are sold to big companies, which use them as extravagant corporate gifts. - TradeArabia News Service