$4,300 gold-plated iPhone 5S sports Putin's face

When Apple first debuted the gold-colored iPhone 5S in 2013, it sold out everywhere. That probably won't be a problem for Italian company Perla Penna and its unusual gold-plated iPhone 5S. Painting some gaudy gold onto an Apple product is nothing new, but Caviar went the extra mile and added a portrait of Russian leader Vladimir Putin along with the Russian coat of arms and the first lines of the national anthem.

Owning this gem of a phone will set you back 147,000 rubles, or about $4,300. The phone's full name is the "Caviar Supremo Putin." The product description suggests this is the best way to express your patriotism. It's certainly one of the more expensive ways to do so.

The portrait is hand-engraved into the gold on the back of the phone. It comes delivered in a black velvet-lined box. It joins a line of oddball luxury phones aimed at the Russian market, including ones with made with alligator skin and ones encrusted with diamonds.

Perla Penna seems to have missed a golden opportunity here. Instead of choosing to display Putin's head with a slight smirk, the company should have opted to engrave one of the more iconic Putin images, like shirtless Putin riding a horse or Putin radio-tagging a Siberian tiger. That would elevate this garish phone from an unnecessary expense to a work of art.

(Via Luxury Launches)