To Honor Cecil the Lion, a $36000 Smart Phone

The outrage surrounding the lion’s death has led to a huge online backlash against Walter Palmer, but if you’d rather honour Cecil’s memory in a more extravagant way, then Goldgenie’s handset could be just for you.

Goldgenie are also no strangers to launching outrageous luxury products – its previous attempts include a £110,000 gold and diamond-encrusted Apple Watch and a “Diamond Ecstasy limited-edition iPhone 6 that cost upwards of £10,000”.

A drawing of a lion is etched on to the back of the phone with “For Cecil and his Kingdom” written below. Now it’s going gold for a good cause by offering a special-edition HTC One M9 smartphone.

Cecil the Lion became a major news focus over the past week when it was discovered the celebrity big cat had been lured out of his sanctuary and killed by a hunter.

The pricing for the phone doesn’t reach the heady heights of a few of Goldgenie’s offerings, but it will set you back around $2,470 (£1,580.83, about AU$3,380).

A particular restricted version golden HTC M9 is being launched to commemorate the life and killing of Cecil the Lion outdoors Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.

[G]old plating company Goldgenie has provided a unique way of remembering the mighty lion – by committing Cecil’s image to a gold HTC One M9 to raise funds for a charity dedicated to the conservation of animals in Hwange National Park where he lived. Only 99 will be made.