Vicuña - the Gold of the Andes is Back
The vicuña is the closest relative of the Alpaca and thus belongs to the family of camels. But it is with its 35 - 65 kg and a body height of just 75 - 85 cm much smaller and daintier. After it was almost extinct, its stocks have now recovered well with about 200.000 animals. And so it gallops full of grace and elegance over the highlands of the Andes.
Because it is at home in the mountains of Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Bolivia and Chile at an altitude of 3.500 - 5.500 meters. There it lives in the wild in territorial family associations. They each consist of one lead stallion with several mares. In addition, there are solitary older stallions that were expelled from the herd. As well as herds of young stallions who are too young to defend their own territory. To win the gold of the Andes, these wild animals are shorn alive in a respectful ceremony called "Chaccu". A ceremony marked by the legend and tradition of the ancestors.
As Soft as Wrapped in Clouds
The outstanding feature of vicuna is its coat, whose fiber is the world's most valuable material for clothing. Not only because the vicuna Lama is extremely rare and lives in very good conditions in the wild. Also, only very small quantities can be produced in the year.
Because after you remove the coarser outer covering hair while shearing, only 28 grams of the valuable fibers are left per vicuna Lama, which are only 2-4 centimeters long. In addition, the soft hair of vicuna with barely imaginable 12 microns - just 0.012 millimeters - is the finest natural fiber in the world. Thus, the vicuna fiber even outshines the famous cashmere wool and is therefore rightly the most valuable material for clothing on our planet.
The Vicuña Scarf
DARIO’S Couture 100% VICUÑA/VIKUNJA Scarf (180 X 30 CM) from Peru
€ 3.250,00,–