Brent Black, Panama Hat Company owner, is known for creating some of the most exquisite hand-woven straw hats. Each of the hats he sells is custom made to order, hand-woven, hand blocked and styled, custom-sized. He is now offering hat collectors, the world’s finest Montecristi Panama, for a whopping $100,000! Black commissioned Simón Espinal (whom Black considers to be the best weaver in history), who lives in the village of Píle in Montecristi Canton, to create this exquisite creation, which he has christened ‘The Hat.’ The Hat made from the finest toquilla straw took the master weaver five months to complete, after which several artisans took several weeks to add finishing touches to it. The Hat has not been blocked into a style or sized yet, as Black is awaiting the purchaser’s final instructions. So exquisite and fine is this hat that, according to Black, it weighs less than an ounce! The fine technique, as well as the quality, has contributed to the expensive price tag. But one more factor which has played an important role in determining the price is the fact that Espinal will probably not be able to repeat the same feat, i.e., weave another hat that boasts of the same fineness.
Black, who himself found it hard to part from the fine that says, “if someone were serious enough to pay $100,000, I think I’d have to give it up”. So, what say guys, any takers for this fine $100,000 hat?
[Luxist]