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Why is vicuna wool so expensive?
Vicuñas produce small amounts of extremely fine wool, which is very expensive because the animal can only be shorn every three years and has to be caught from the wild. When knitted together, the product of the vicuña’s wool is very soft and warm.
Is vicuña a wool?
Vicuña wool is a very fine wool made from an animal called a vicuña, a South American camelid that lives in the high alpine areas of the Andes. Vicuñas are cousins of llamas and were celebrated by the Incas for their fine wool.
Is vicuña softer than cashmere?
The softest and the most prized wool in the world comes from Peru, where it is sheared and harvested off the back of a Vicuna, their national animal. More extraordinary than cashmere, the softest wool in the world comes from Vicuna, the national animal of Peru.
Is vicuña a cashmere?
The fiber, fleece, wool, or coat of the vicuna is the finest grown by any animal. The diameter of its fiber is 12.5 microns, compared to the best cashmere at 13.5 microns and basic cashmere ranges from 14.5 to 17.5 microns.
Which is the most expensive wool?
Vicuna
Vicuna, the world’s most exclusive and expensive wool: we explain you its secret. They weigh about 45 kilos and do not exceed 80 cm in height, but its “precious wool” is sold at astronomical prices: up to $500 is paid for a kilo of unprocessed vicuna fiber.
What is the most expensive sheep wool?
Vicuna The most expensive of all specialty wools, vicuna sells for anywhere from $1,300 to $3,000 per yard.
What are the softest wools?
The finest and softest sheep’s wool is Merino which comes from the Merino sheep. It is the most popular breed of sheep used for clothing and produces the most luxurious wool, famous for its fine staples at about 20-25 microns in diameter (superfine merino can sometimes be down to 17 microns) and a soft hand feel.
Is vicuna better than cashmere?
It is said to be softer and about 10% lighter and warmer than cashmere because of its longer fibers. It pills less than cashmere and is hypoallergenic. Bred for their precious fibers, alpacas and vicuñas are camelids, related to the larger llama, and are found primarily in Peru.
Where does the yarn for vicuna come from?
The certificated yarn comes from Peru. Because of its rarity and unique properties it is considered to be the yarn of the yarns, which has wonderful wearing qualities. Vicuña is sold in its natural colour, because it is not being dyed in general.
What’s the difference between sheep’s wool and vicuna?
Vicuña hair is extremely light and fine. The finest sheep’s wool is twice as wide as that of the vicuna. Vicuña is even finer than the fur of an angora rabbit. That, plus its rarity, makes it expensive- really expensive. The unwoven fiber can cost as much as $600/kg – versus something like $6/kg for sheep’s wool.
How much does it cost to make vicuna fabric?
According to the fine folks at Wikipedia, a yard’s worth of genuine vicuna fabric retails for over $1,800. A bespoke suit made with vicuña can cost as much as $20,000. So that means there are a lot of naughty-doers out there hoping to sucker customers via counterfeit goods.
How did the Incas get their wool from the vicuna?
The vicuña only produces about 0.5 kg (1.1 lb) of wool a year, and gathering it requires a certain process. During the time of the Incas, vicuña wool was gathered by means of communal efforts called chacu, in which multitudes of people herded hundreds of thousands of vicuña into previously laid funnel traps.