TAG Heuer, the famous Swiss-based watch manufacturer, announced the release of a luxury phone at the end of last year, and it seems that the handset is ready to hit the market, as leaked images and details about it have surfaced.

Bearing an exotic name, TAG Heuer Meridiist has a candybar form factor and comes in a stainless-steel case that can be dressed, at customers' request, in various colors and models of leather, or just in plastic.

The French website Le Journal du Geek (cool name) says the Meridiist features a scratch-resistant 1.9 inch display made of sapphire crystal, a secondary 96 x 76 pixels OLED screen, positioned at the top of the handset, a 2.0 Megapixel camera, Multimedia player with support for MP3, AAC and MPEG-4, Bluetooth and a battery that should provide a talk-time of up to 7 hours and a stand-by time of up to no less than 28 days (this would be really nice, if true). These are not the technical specs of a high-end mobile phone, but Meridiist is not created to be one and first of all it's a fashion handset.

TAG Heuer Meridiist looks quite different from most of the luxury mobile phones, and although it seems to be a bit thick, it's a device that benefits from a really good design. Created in collaboration with Modelabs, the French company that also made the Hummer and Levi's phones, Meridiist will most probably be among the coolest luxury handsets of this year.

All the TAG Heuer Meridiist phones can be customized and one unit will cost you at least 3,400 Euro (about $5,300), depending on how exactly you want it to be made. Those who feel they have too much money in their pockets will be able to buy the Meridiist starting the next few months.