The world record for the finest Merino wool sold at auction earlier this month is seen by Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) as a milestone for the industry.
At a Sydney auction, a bale of Merino wool wiith an average fibre diameter of 11.6 microns sold for $A2,690 per kilogram.
AWI claims the record shows that Australian Merino wool has again proved itself the premium fibre of choice for the international luxury apparel market.
The ultrafine Merino wool was grown by the Hillcreston Pinehill Partnership from Goulburn, NSW.
The record-breaking bale was purchased by Raymond, one of the world’s largest wool textile and men’s suiting companies, which plans to weave the wool into exclusive Super 240s fabric.
“This rare and luxurious fibre is a product of the unique highlands environment and the woolgrowers art form - special breeding and selection, very high standards of care, nutrition and fleece preparation," chief executive, Australian Wool Innovation, Craig Welsh, said on Friday.
"It is a rare and specialist product produced from one of the Grand Cru appellations of Australia’s superfine wool regions by growers who have developed their breeding flock over many generations."
The sale, he says, provides further proof of the continuing dominance of and improvement in the quality of Australian Merino being delivered for high end fashion use.
It also coincided with the launch of ‘fifteen&finer,’ an exclusive Australian Merino wool that is finer than fifteen microns, at the trade fair Pitti Filati held in Florence, Italy this month.
The fifteen&finer collection is a premium range of Merino fabrics and yarns that represent the best that fine Australian Merino has to offer.
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