Russian Company Gresso appears to have entered the luxury mobile phone market with its Black Aura collection of phones, and to be a direct competitor of Vertu.

What is special about Gresso phones is that they are made entirely out of African blackwood, a type of wood that is reported to be very resistant to decay. Since no two pieces of wood are alike, Gresso claims that no two of its phones are a like either.

The Black Aura collection includes three models of phones, Blackwood, Blackwood Gold Edition and Gold, all of them featuring African blackwood cases, sapphire crystal display and laser etched keypad with scratch resistant covering.

While Blackwood is made entirely out of African blackwood, Blackwood Gold Edition is decorated with 18 Carat Pink Gold inserts. The last of the series, Gresso Gold has a front pannel made out of 18 Carat pink Gold as well as the back pannel decorated with Gold inserts.

All three models from the Black Aura collection are only 10mm thick. It is strange though, that you can only contact Gresso via a Hotmail address to find out more, but rumor has it that a site will be available in the near future. The Black Aura collection will be released in 2007