Cashmere and Pashmina - any suggestion ?

[Benoit Doury]

Hello everyone,

As I'm going back home for christmas, I'm willing to buy a few Cashmere and Pashmina items to offer presents to my family. It's very hard to tell the fake from the quality, and to find the right price. 

Do you have any suggestion about a place where the prices would be fixed and the clothes genuine ?

Thanks by advance,

Benoît

[MashaVN]

Hello Benoit and everyone,

One place you should definitely check is Umrao Cashmere in Pulchowk,
opposite Himalaya hotel. They have the highest quality of cashmere
available, and fixed prices. It is worth the price, and something that
will last a lifetime.
Other shops worth a visit would be Tara Oriental in Lazimpat, Nature
Knit in Thamel (near Fire & Ice restaurant), and Himalayan Cashmere in
Kathmandu Durbar Square (behind Bally showroom).
Hope that helps.

Cheers

Masha

[JIN]

Thank you for useful information.

I am also looking for some souvenirs and some for me, but it is always hard to know the 'right' price and quality.

Though got some shop names, I would like to know 'how to' choose real cashmere, real pashmina. I heard real pashmina should pass through very small hole, like ring, or when you smoke it, it should have 'protein burning' smell.

But, even they are real cashmere and pashmina, it must be some difference that determines big-price gap. For example, shops in Thamel, and Patan said there products are better than others(sure they must be!) so price must be higher, but it looks absolutely same to me.

Are there any big difference or products or depends on just 'marketing skills'? :)

How much is 'decent' price of Cashmere knit, cardigan. Pashmina shawl in Thamel and normal handicraft shops? 

Looking forward to hear from you.

Thanks 

[Gurvesh]

Hi
Cashmere and PASHMINA are the same thing. Pashmina is a colloquial
name for cashmere.
In the old days cashmere was used with a cotton or wool warp and sold
as a pashmina, so the name stuck on. But in the late 1990's the
industry moved to using a silk warp, which is the pashmina you see in
the market today.

And this combination with a silk warp is generally (and by no means a
compulsion) done in a 70/30 or a 50/50 or even an 80/20 cashmere /
silk ratio. But beware; there are some who don’t really give you the
correct ratio.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pashmina

As for the quality, there is cashmere and then there is CASHMERE. Good
quality cashmere is expensive. The HAND FEEL of Cashmere should make
you go WOW!!

The WOW factor will help you - the end user, judge which quality is
better when comparing. If the hand feel of the product is good them
the quality is good as well. If it’s rough and scratchy you can assume
that the quality is not so good.

Technically, cashmere quality is determined by 3 things: Fiber length,
Micron and Purity.
The longer the fibre the better the quality and hand feel.
The lower the micron, the better the quality
And for obvious reasons the higher the purity, the better the quality
So a really good yarn has long fibre, low micron and is 97% purity and
up.

Additionally, the long fiber strengthens the yarn, so PILLING does not
occur as much, as the longer fibres bind the yarn better. Also
remember, ALL CASHMERE PILLS, but good cashmere pills relatively
little

Now as far as the shawl or stole passing thru a ring / hole is
concerned. That is one type of product, “Ring shawl / stole”. But not
all cashmere / pashmina will pass thru the ring, especially if it is
thicker.

You can get a very fine 100 count or an 80 count cashmere product that
is almost as comparable to the olden day Shahtoosh (also written
Shatush) products. These definitely are more expensive and will pass
any quality test.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahtoosh

Cashmere product prices are all dependant on the weight (cashmere
used) as each gram of cashmere yarn can be as expensive as 18 rupees.
Yes NPR 12 - 18 per gram for really good quality of cashmere. So you
do the math.

A good shawl in 100% cashmere should run you NPR 6000 and upwards. As
for the knits – depending on the weight of the product, the price of
round neck / v-neck should be NPR 6000 and up…..

Just remember, the HAND FEEL and WOW Factor.
If it feels soft - it’s generally good quality.

Happy Shopping!!!

Gurvesh
Umrao Cashmere