People often think that alpaca woolen products are expensive – I did, too! Especially when I was living in Peru on a local salary! But, now I know better! Alpaca wool is actually not all that expensive. In fact, what’s the most expensive wool if it is not alpaca?!
Vicuña is the most expensive wool on earth. A kilo of raw vicuña fleece costs between $400 and $600. As a finished fiber, vicuña yarn costs $10,690 per kilo. Sweaters can cost anywhere between $4,000, and $9,000, and scarves between $3,000 and $7,000. Vicuña coats can cost up to $31,000.
On top of being the most expensive fiber, vicuña is also one of the rarest and softest fibers on this planet. There are a lot of reasons as to why vicuña is so precious!
What Does Vicuña Cost?
Vicuña refers to an amazing luxury fiber that comes from an animal called a vicuña. Vicuñas are camelids, although they are the rarest and most precious of their kind.
While raw vicuña fleece in and of itself is already extremely expensive, finished products are even more valuable!
| sleazily Category | Price range |
|---|---|
| Raw fleece (1 kilogram / 35.27 ounce) | $ 400-600 |
| Yarn (25 grams / 0.9 ounce) | $ 230 |
| Yarn (1 kilogram / 35.27 ounce) | $10,690 |
| Sweater | $ 4,000-9,000 |
| Scarf | $3,000 |
| Stole | $7,000 |
| Coats, jackets and capes | $17,000-31,000 |
Why Is Vicuña So Expensive?
So, what makes vicuña so expensive?!
Vicuña is extremely rare and the animals can only be shorn once every three years. They are kept in the wild, but under strict protection and need to be caught before they can be shorn. It is also the most luxurious fiber you could possibly encounter.
Not too long ago, vicuñas were extremely rare and on the border of going extinct. While they were treated as gods under Inca rule (they knew how to appreciate their fibers!), decades of unrestricted hunting that followed in Peru pushed this animal on the verge of extinction.
Currently, vicuñas are under strict protection and they are carefully monitored. Conservation and reinstatement programs have brought the number of vicuñas in Peru back to a solid 350,000, according to Wikipedia.
- The Peruvian government has a special labelling system that they use to track the (export) of vicuña wool fibers to prevent poaching and illegal trade.
The fleece of the vicuña grows fairly slow, and the animals can therefore only be shorn once every three years. When the vicuñas get shorn, they have to be caught from the wild first and of course, they are released afterwards.
- Check out this awesome mini-documentary from the BBC about how the shearing process goes:
- Curious to read more about the price of (wool) fibers? Read this article that I wrote comparing a bunch of different materials! Is Alpaca the Most Expensive Fabric? (Compared to Vicuña, Qiviut, Cashmere, Bison Down, Yak & More)
Vicuña Is Softer, Warmer and Lighter Than Most Other Fibers
On top of being extremely rare, vicuñas also produce an extremely luxurious fiber!
Vicuña is one of the softest fibers on earth. And, while being extremely light, it is very strong. Thanks to its natural habitat, vicuña is breathable while being warm at the same time.
The vicuña fiber is generally estimated to have a fiber diameter of about 12 microns. Qiviut down, shahtoosh and angora wool are the only fibers that have a similar micron range and thus a comparable softness.
| Fiber | Micron Count |
|---|---|
| Shahtoosh | 7-12 microns |
| Vicuña | 12 microns |
| Qiviut down | 12-14 microns |
| Angora Wool | 12-16 microns |
The natural habitat of the vicuña is at a high altitude in the Andean mountains. In a place close to the sun, the temperatures during the day can get really high, while they drop (below zero!) during the night. Their fleece, therefore, needs to be protective and breathable at the same time.
- Vicuñas live at extremely high altitudes! (3,200 to 4,800 m or 10,500–15,700 ft)
Thanks to their unique living conditions the vicuñas have developed some unique fiber qualities that contribute to the exclusivity of the fiber.
Vicuña fleece is:
- Soft
- Warm
- Breathable
- Uniform (in color and length)
The hollow fiber has insulating properties and the small scales on the outside of the fiber helps yarn made of vicuña wool to interlock so that the garments are even more comfortable, warm and insulating.
- Read more about how soft other fibers are in this article that I wrote comparing different animal fibers! Is Alpaca Wool the Softest Wool? (Compared to Qiviut, Angora, Llama, Cashmere, Camel, Sheep & More)
How Does the Price of Vicuña Compare to other Fibers?
Vicuña wool is the most expensive fiber available, and the “next most expensive” fiber is “only” half the price!
Vicuña wool is twice as expensive as qiviut down. Angora wool, which is similar in softness, is “only” worth 1/10 the price of vicuña. Alpaca wool, family of the vicuña, is a lot, lot, lot cheaper.
| Animal | Raw Fiber (per kilo) | Finished Fiber (per kilo) |
|---|---|---|
| Vicuña | $ 399 – 600 | $ 10,690 |
| Qiviut | $ 64 | $ 5,291 |
| Angora | $ 406 | $ 1,050 |
| Alpaca | $ 2 – 59 | $ 83 – 218 |
Vicuña and qiviut are similar in terms of softness and exclusivity: both fibers have very limited availability and are super exclusive. Both due to their limited population, but also because of the limited fleece availability.
- Qiviut down is hand-plucked from the trees that the musk-oxen shed their fur on!
Angora is similar in softness and qualities. However, angora wool has a very different feel: it’s very fluffy and playful, whereas vicuña has a more “sophisticated” feel to it. One major downside of angora wool is that there have been many cases of animal cruelty, due to large-scale production.
You could say that alpaca is the affordable and more commonly available version of vicuña.
How Does Vicuña Compare to Alpaca?
Since alpacas are family members of the vicuña they deserve to get a more elaborate comparison.
Vicuña and alpaca fibers have very similar qualities. As the animals share the same habitat, their fleece has similar qualities and products that are made with either fiber have many great features and benefits – although a very different price tag! Vicuña is much more luxurious than alpaca wool.
Generally, you could say that alpaca wool is the cheap version of vicuña. And while this is true, there are some significant differences, too! Because I’m all about alpaca wool, I’ll keep my comparison limited to fiber features – not animal-features!
| Vicuña | Alpaca |
|---|---|
| Only available in brown | Comes in 22 natural colors |
| Doesn’t take dye well | Takes dye extremely well |
| Shorn once every 3 years | Shorn every year |
| Produces 0.5 kg (1.1 lb) of wool per year | Produces 1.8 kg (4 lb) of wool per year |
| 11-14 microns | 18-28 microns |
The fact that vicuña only comes in its one natural color is interesting. On the one hand, it is a feature that makes vicuña even more exclusive, but on the other hand, having that wide range of natural colors available is also what makes alpaca wool special.
That being said, it also makes alpaca wool a sustainable option given that there are many colors available that don’t require dyeing. Now of course, the fact that vicuña wool is never dyed is, of course, also super-super sustainable! But people like to have options, right?
Alpaca wool is much more accessible than vicuña. Its fleece grows faster and it produces more, which means that the cost is generally lower. Another reason is that it is also a lot less soft – especially considering that most alpaca wool has a fiber diameter of 24.5-26.5 microns.
- Not quite ready to commit to a $10,000 vicuña garment? Check out my Alpaca Woolen products here! All products are made with love to empower women in Bolivia.
So while alpaca wool might not be as soft as vicuña, it is generally considered one of the softer fibers available, especially when you consider how expensive the softer wools are!
- Curious to read more about how alpaca wool compares to other wool fibers when it comes to sustainability? I wrote a full comparison that you can find here: Is Alpaca Wool the Most Sustainable Fabric? (Compared to Mohair, Cashmere, Cotton, Hemp & More)
