Vicuñas Wool - Most Expensive Wool In The World

So what is the most expensive wool in the world one might ask? Some of you might think it comes from exotic and rare animals that can hardly be found. Well, it is not exactly true.

For those who don't know, the most expensive wool as of now comes from a mountainous area of the Andes in Peru. The wool originated from a type of animal that comes from the Llama and Alpaca family known as Vicuna or Vicuña in Spanish.

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This animal is identified as having a really slim body with a height of 1.8 meters and the most important aspect will be its silky golden fur. This thin layered and soft fur is being sold for a much higher price than the cashmere fur which is considered very valuable.

The Vicuñas wool can is very great at trapping heat which makes it suitable to be used as a fur coat in the freezing temperature in the Andes. On top of that, this fur is also very light and soft compared to other furs out there which explains its huge price tag.

Why Vicuñas Fur Is So Expensive?

This will be the main question that everyone wants to know what might be the average price for this premium and precious fur that is in high demand.

1 kilogram of unprocessed vicuñas wool will range anywhere from $400 to $600. After being processed, the price of the vicuñas thread quickly shoots up to a whopping $10,690 per kilo.

On top of that, if you were to get your hands on a sweater made from vicuñas then you should be prepared to pay around $4000 to $9000 for one sweater. The same thing can be said for Vicuñas-made coats that can reach up to $31,000 per piece.

Vicuñas is not only the most expensive wool out there but also one of the rarest and softest ones yet on this earth. There are many reasons why some people are still willing to flush their wallets to get this priceless vicuña.

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Not long ago, vicuñas were also considered very rare and on the brink of extinction. Despite the animals being treated as special under the rule of the Inca, the decades-long of hunting without any boundaries in Peru has resulted in the numbers rapidly declining.

As of now, vicuñas are under strict protection by law and they are constantly being monitored by authorities. The recovery programs led by the Peruvian government have allowed the numbers to quickly rose up to 350,000 vicuñas.

The government has systematic labeling that has been utilized to detect the export of vicuñas wool to avoid any illegal poaching and trade. The drawback of vicuñas wool is that they tend to grow at a slow rate and due to that the animals can only be shaved three times a year.

Each vicuña can only produce roughly 200 to 500 grams of unprocessed fur. In order to obtain this fur, vicuñas must first be caught in the wild before being let go the wild after the shaving process has been done.

In order to maintain the quality of the fur, only 4 tonnes of vicuñas fur are exported each year to Italy, England, Germany, and the United States of America.

History Of Vicuñas During the Inca Civilization

During the pre-Columbus era in the 13th century, Vicuñas were given the highest level of respect in the Inca empire whereby this animal was considered somewhat special to the society. Its fur is known to be a layer of gold only to be used by the royal family.

The process of shaving this animal is a holy type of process whereby a group of vicuñas will be gathered and shaved. This whole process is called Chaccu but afterward, the animals will be let go into the wild. Nobody back then was known to have killed these vicuñas.

Even in 1532, the Spanish conquest have taken over the land and breached the local tradition of the Inca civilization for their own gain. Vicuñas fur was known to be a valuable commodity similar to silk back then.

The difference was that as the Spanish came into their land, the animals were killed to obtain their fur. Millions of vicuñas freed in the wild have been hunted mercilessly for their priceless fur.

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It was only after a few centuries that a new law has been imposed to prevent these animals to cease to exist. With only around 6000 vicuñas left in the 1960s, the Peruvian government has taken drastic action to protect this endangered species.

The Vicuña Reserve was introduced covering an area of 40 square miles which is known as Pampas Galeras in the Ayacucho region.

Vicuña fur As A Source Of Income

As of today, this fur is very expensive and happens to be the most expensive wool out there. The government has given many incentives to businesses to help the unfortunate locals to get by.

At the same time, this initiative will also encourage the locals to protect the vicuñas from going extinct. Today there are around 200,000 Vicuñas wandering around in this region once more. The Chaccu ceremony is still being practiced by the locals and is also open to tourists coming to Peru.

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