Midas Touch International, a specialist gold-plating firm, has been inundated with requests for its latest must-have fashion item - a 24-carat gold-plated mobile phone, reports Cellular News.

The Nokia 8800 phones, dubbed 'ring-bling' fashion accessories for wealthy consumers, have been selling well from the London-based company since their first appearance on the market five months ago.

Laban Roomes, the entrepreneur who runs Midas Touch, says the desire for the phones has been "like a gold rush".

"We started gold-plating the latest Nokia 8800 in November and business has been booming every since," he explained. "It seems the whole world wants one, so now we're looking to set up a world-class distribution channel both in the UK and in Europe."

The phones are covered by a guarantee against fading and peeling and come complete with a certificate of authenticity alongside assurances of the phone itself from certified Nokia technicians.

Customers are able to choose from a variety of styles - modern gold, classic gold or rose gold. A 'gold-plating only' price is also on offer from £239.95.

Mr Roomes' company can claim a substantial gold-plating resume to support its latest venture: "We work closely with top car marques like Lexus, Honda and Toyota and we plate jewellery, upmarket bathroom taps - and even golf clubs," he said.

The phones are the latest gold-plated item in what appears to be becoming a trend amongst wealthy clients, following the announcement earlier this week of the release of a gold-plated MP3 player from German company TrekStor.

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