Cashmere is the wool from the undercoat of several breeds of Himalayan Goats. The goats inhabit the mighty Himalayas that lie in Asia, spread over a few countries together. Numerous breeds found in these mountain ranges produce quality Cashmere which results in the production of luxury apparel and accessories. The goats that produce the wool usually develop the thick wool on their underbelly areas, behind the ears and the neck region. The unique process of crafting the finest Cashmere is defined by the intricacy of skill. The artisans work upon each masterpiece with precision and caution. The heritage, tradition and culture of the Kashmir Valley are visible in each flare of the Pashmina Art accessory. Ladakhi Cashmere is the finest all the production of this fine wool.

Ladakhi Cashmere is the most expensive in the world; this is due to many reasons. From its procurement to the making of the final product, Cashmere fibre gets a manual processing to produce Pashmina shawls, scarves or smaller accessories. There is practically no use of machine whatsoever, and artisans who transform Cashmere to finished products are simply magicians.

What is Ladakhi Cashmere?

There are diverse breeds of Cashmere producing goats. The several breeds viz;  Australian Goat, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Hexi, Zhonghwei, Tibetan Plateau, Luliang breeds, Changthanghi, etc. Therefore, all the breeds produce the Cashmere wool that produces warmth and luxury. The exclusive breed of goats called Changra Goats is rare species of goats. These goats dwell in the region of Changhthanghi, Ladakh. The region is at a high altitude level and is the coldest in the winter season.

Temperature in this region goes to a minimum of -40° C. The Changra goats combat the cold season by developing a thick undercoat of wool. The wool is thick, soft and produces adequate warmth. It is this wool that is known as Cashmere, locally and internationally as well. The wool protects the goats from the biting cold of winters, but makes them equally uncomfortable in the summer season. Hence, in the hotter months of the year, herders comb the wool off their bodies (under professional supervision), and they are freed of the discomfort.

Reasons for the expensiveness of Ladakhi Cashmere

Ladakhi Cashmere is the finest in the whole world. Artisans handcraft products from it in the Valley of Kashmir. These accessories are premium and supreme quality accessories. Ladakhi Cashmere accessories are expensive in comparison to other accessories. At times, a few types of Cashmere wraps are super expensive, costing thousands of dollars. Here are listed some reasons why Cashmere products are expensive;

1. The Low production

There are several breeds of goats that produce cashmere wool. Each breed has a specific percentage of production in the total production. Thus, the several breeds viz;  Australian Goat, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Hexi, Zhonghwei, Tibetan Plateau, Luliang breeds, Changthanghi, etc. are explicit. The finest Cashmere comes from the Changhthangi Goats. They are also called Changra Goats. The goats are medium size and with two twisted horns. These goats mainly graze on grass. It is the Changpa tribe herders that rear Changra Goats.

In addition to this, the Changra Goats produce the fine wool once every year. In fact, the animal is only able to produce 80 to 170 gm of Ladakhi Cashmere during a year. Therefore, contemplated the rarest. Also, other breeds of it produce several times more as there is almost 400 million Cashmere eliciting Goats all over the world. Changra Goats produce only 1% of the total production of this fine wool. Consequently, the production caters to the manufacture of different styles like Pashmina Shawls, Scarves, and Wraps. Therefore, the low production enhances the rarity and thus expensive Cashmere. Traders have to wait for an entire year for just a few grams of this wool type, which this makes the fibre one of the most prized in the world.

2. The Hand Procurement of fine Cashmere

Often people ask, "Is Cashmere Expensive"? Well the answer is Yes. And there are a hundred reasons for it. Let's start with the procurement.

The Changra Goats produce the fine Cashmere in winter. The Goats develop thick undercoats of wool. The wool is thick and soft. Herders of the Changpa tribe graze Changra goats. The Changpa tribe is one of the tribes in the region of Changthang, Ladakh. Eventually, when the seasons change, the Changra Goats shed off their undercoat of wool against rocks and trees. Meanwhile, the Changpa herders also comb out by hand the fine wool. Specialists gently comb the Changra Goats with specialized tools to get the fine wool out. Later, there are tufts of wool around when the specialists complete the combing process. The process is natural and handmade that involves a lot of man-hours. Thus, preserving the premium quality.

Transportation of Cashmere

Getting the wool from Ladakh to Kashmir too is a manual process. As Cashmere is one of the most expensive fibre in the world, one can only hand it over to trustworthy traders or re-sellers. Hence, managing the transportation of Cashmere to Kashmir is a very responsible task. Transporters perform it with caution and careful scrutiny.

3. The Handcrafting of fine Accessories

The tufts of Ladakhi Cashmere are packed and transferred to the Valley of Kashmir. The Valley welcomes the fine Cashmere with the hands of serenity and precision. The handcrafting of fine Cashmere begins by cleaning the tufts of wool diligently. Thereafter, workers dry the cleaned wool in sunlight. Thus, further exaggerating the premium quality. Afterwards, workers distribute the cleaned and dried Cashmere wool to the households. Women of the households of Kashmir Valley work upon the Cashmere wool with utmost precision through the process of Spinning. These women carry out the process of Spinning manually with the help of a wooden wheel called yinder. The process of Spinning is converting the wool into the finest Yarn. Therefore, the spinning process is very tiring and needs full precision. Thus, the women of the Kashmir Valley explicitly define the aura of supreme quality Ladakhi Cashmere. Therefore, enhancing the premium quality further.

Weaving Process

Afterwards, Weavers carry out the next process manually too. It is the Weaving process. Thus, weaving is the process of looming the Cashmere yarn into suitable warps and wefts to create the fabric of utmost fineness and purity. In the valley of Kashmir, weavers weave shawls in small workshops where they set up traditional handlooms. In addition, the highly skilled artisans weave the magical yarn into significant warps and wefts to give a ravishingly fine Cashmere Fabric.

Handcrafting of Cashmere fibre to finished products take a lot of time. At times, some elaborate shawls, like jamawar embroidered shawls, or Kani Pashmina shawls take 4 to 5 years to complete. This period includes working for 6 to 8 hours a day, and continuously working on a single shawl. After such hard work, the product looks like an art piece, and therefore fetches a pretty high price when it comes to sales.

4. The Exclusive Hand-designing of Accessories

In Pashmina Art, the next process is designing. It is world class artisans who perform several processes of designing. The artisans work with precision on every masterpiece of Pashmina Art. It is to be noted that the curation of the finest and the most expensive Cashmere to diverse styles of accessories is the Art of Pashmina. Thus, the designing of various fine accessories is done with precision and intricacy. Thousands of artisans work in the realm of Pashmina Art. Hand dyeing, hand embroidery, hand weaving and hand embellishing is precisely what defines the intricacy. Thus, adding to the supreme quality of fine Cashmere.

The main embellishment patterns on Cashmere shawls is hand embroidery. Mostly three types of embroideries are done on Cashmere wraps and scarves. Sozni Kari, Tilla Dozi and Paper Mache embroidery are the main embroidery patterns for Cashmere wraps. These embroideries, too, are time consuming and take years to complete. Hence shawls with these magnificent embroideries are pricey than their counterparts.

Also read: THE VOWS OF PASHMINA ART

5. The High-class Skill of Artisans

Artisans of the Kashmir Valley are world-class in their skills. The intricacy of each process is visible in every masterpiece of Pashmina Art. The whole journey of artisans' skill peeks through the eyes of every Ladakhi Cashmere accessory. The hand designing is catered by the supremely skilled artisans of the Kashmir Valley. They meticulously preserve the heritage of Kashmir Valley and translate the culture into each masterpiece. In addition, they give the dimension of luxury to the accessories. Thus, enhancing their presence in the world of fashion. This is one of the answers to the question, "Why is Cashmere expensive"?

The artisans, with their skill, work hard day and night. Thus, meditating on the Pashmina Art accessories. All the definitions of Pashmina Art are preserved due to the skill of artisans. Hence, the cashmere becomes expensive due to the long man-hours invested in the creation of these beautiful and unique pieces that take years of hard work of each artisan involved in the making along with the token of authenticity and genuineness.

Lifetime spent

The artisans involved with the art of Pashmina making are highly experienced. apart from those who are new in the business, there are several who have given their entire lives to this art form. A large number of artisans have spent 25 to 30 years with Pashmina art, and a few amongst them have spent over 50 years. Perhaps, this is the beauty of Pashmina art that it has hypnotized its makers, who could easily have switched to another professions earlier. But it is for the love they have for their work, and for the belief of theirs that Pashmina art is sacred for them, that they spend days and years without getting their deserved shares

6. The promise to stay with you for a lifetime

Cashmere scarves, when in their purest form, last for a lifetime. A Pure Pashmina wrap, handmade by Kashmiri artisans, lasts for about 30 years. Surprisingly, these wraps, even though after having lived for so long, look as antique and treasure worthy as an ancient art piece.

It was the beautiful tradition of Kashmir valley that mothers present their own Cashmere shawls or wraps to their daughters on their wedding day. This is like passing a sacred symbol of the glorious tradition of Kashmir to their daughters as an auspicious sign. The shawls, even if more tan 20 years old, carry an antique look, and do no look old and withered. That is why Pashmina is called timeless, as it defeats the fading away of the beauty and everlasting grace of Cashmere Pashmina shawls.

What is the most expensive Cashmere?

As stated earlier, it is the Kashmiri Cashmere wraps and shawls that are the most expensive. The reason is that these are handmade from start to finish. Post the acquisition of raw wool from Ladakh, the Cashmere thus procured, is cleaned manually. Post cleaning it is spun as well as woven manually. Later, if at all it is to be embroidered, hand embroidery is chosen for the same. Hence a Cashmere from Kashmir is completely handmade, and no machine are used in the making.

Is Cashmere Expensive? Such shawls made in Cashmere are the most expensive, being a product of only manual efforts. Cashmere that comes from Kashmir is the most pricey when compared to its counterparts. A recent development in the realms of Cashmere processing is the introduction of the Geographical Indication (GI) tag. The shawls and scarves in which a GI tag is found is the most pricey pieces, as they are authentically handspun and handwoven.

A Vast Collection of Accessories

We, at Pashmina.com, further preserve the genuineness of each masterpiece by directly presenting the world assortments of fine Cashmere accessories. We confer with the artisans and take your pieces of luxuries from their laps. Also, it is known that crafting the fine Cashmere for several accessories is the Pashmina Art. Further, the premium collection of Pashmina Art styles and designs are presented most luxuriously. Thus, having one of the masterpieces admire your beauty with the supplication of glory and luxury.

Also read: TURNING THE WAYS FOR THE PLEDGE OF FINEST CASHMERE