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To survive the inhospitable environment of the high plateaux (14,000ft) of Mongolia and China, where temperatures fall to –40C, a Himalayan mountain goat (Capra Hircus) roams, which grows a unique, incredibly soft pashm, or inner coat, known in the west as cashmere to keep it warm. So the poorer the grazing and harsher the winter the better quality of wool on the undercoat. The wool is six times finer than human hair, is one of the world's most rare and precious fibres; soft to handle, light and warm. In spring/summer, farmers comb the fine woollen undercoat from the neck and chest of, the goat. The fleece consists of the very fine, crimpy down and the usually longer outside coarse hairs. Cashmere fibres must be separated, by combing out the down. Cashmere is the world's rarest production fibre and is one of the most expensive in nature. The origins of cashmere The origins of cashmere production are lost in the mists of time. Even the Romans cherished it. And by the 1400s thousands worked in Shrinigar, Kashmir, weaving beautiful shawls from the under fleece of domestic goats. Cashmere reached Western Europe in the 1700s, led by the fashion-setting Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III of France. In the 1920's Coco Chanel and fellow designers discovered its fine jersey weights and wonderful tactile properties and proceeded to transform cashmere into highly desirable fashion clothing. cashmere scarf Its rarity is due to the exceptionally harsh and geographically remote conditions of its production, and the labour-intensive but refined skills required for every stage of processing. Cashmere's natural mystique is also enhanced by its being produced by exotic peoples following a timeless pastoral way of life.
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