To accurately assess the quality of a Genuine Panama Hat, it is essential to examine the weave. The finer the weave, the higher the quality of the hat

Our Creative Director at Marchesi di Montecristi®, personally selects each hat in Ecuador. For Montecristi hats in the 'Extra Fine' category, she uses a magnifying glass, as these hats are woven with such fine straw that counting the individual stitches per inch with the naked eye is nearly impossible.

A finer hat requires significantly more time and skill to weave than a coarser one. The finer the straw, the more labour-intensive the process becomes.

It is important to understand that the artisan is creating a fabric entirely by hand. Each time the width of the straw is halved, the amount of work involved is quadrupled. A hat that is twice as fine as another will take four times longer to weave. This complexity is a key factor in the price of Panama Hats. The delicate nature of their construction, combined with the immense skill and time required to craft them, means that Panama Hats command a higher price compared to any other hat on the market. The slight increase in fineness, multiplied by the thousands of weave "intersections" in a high-quality hat, can result in several additional weeks of weaving time—further contributing to their cost.

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