The Classicist: The $100,000 Panama Hat
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Brent Black, renowned authority and preeminent purveyor of handwoven straw hats, is now offering the world's finest Montecristi Panama for $100,000. Known simply as "The Hat", Black calls the exquisite creation the most finely woven Montecristi Panama the world has ever known. Authentic Montecristi Panamas, the world's greatest, are made from extremely fine toquilla straw and woven only in Ecuador; a handful of master weavers produce the best of the best, which sell for tens of thousands of dollars apiece. The Hat was commissioned by Black from the king of the master weavers - Black calls him the best weaver in history - Simón Espinal, who lives in the village of Píle in Montecristi Canton. It took him five full months to complete.
After Espinal completed the weaving, five other artisans spent several more weeks preparing and finishing The Hat. An incredible amount of handwork goes into Montecristis; hence the price. You can see some of it in the gallery and a more detailed exposition here. The Hat has not been blocked into a style or sized yet, and is awaiting the purchaser's final instructions. Black offers dozens of different styles and bespoke finishes, some based on vintage patterns such as the dashing Optimo design, above. The Hat is so incredibly fine it weighs less than one ounce. "It is as thin as my stationery," Black tells The Classicist. "When I handle The Hat, I do not worry that it might fall to the floor if I drop it; I worry that it might float away."
While Espinal could theoretically create another one equal to The Hat's fineness, it's not a given that he could replicate the feat. "I have been obsessed with the very finest hats for more than 20 years," Black notes. "I have researched the finest hats woven during the 20th century. There is simply no hat that is comparable to this one." At first Black says he did not want to part with The Hat. However, "if someone were serious enough to pay $100,000 I think I'd have to give it up," he concedes. "I represent the interests of the artist as a gallery does. Simón would be pleased for me to sell it." If that's out of your range, don't worry - Black's best hats, other than this unique work of art, sell for $5,000 to $30,000. You can work your way up.
Black, who's based in Hawaii, started the Panama Hat Company of the Pacific in 1987 for the specific purpose of trying to preserve the art of hand weaving the finest Montecristi hats. Each of the hats he sells is custom made to order - hand woven, hand blocked and styled, custom sized. The price isn't about the label; it's about the labor. And the art. "I believe the most direct way to encourage any artists is to buy their work and to pay them high enough wages and commissions that they will be eager to create more of their art," Black says. "So I pay the weavers higher prices than anyone else in the world. Plus I pay the artists commissions when their art is sold. Simón Espinal is the highest paid weaver in history. He only weaves 3 or 4 hats per year, and they're priced between $10,000 and $30,000 apiece."
At those prices you'd think they'd be something of a hard sell in these times, but the rarity and quality mean such hats are always at a premium. "I am happily overwhelmed with orders," Black notes. "At the moment I have orders for five hats in the $10,000 to $25,000 price range, plus a few more in the $5000 to $10,000 range." Black also has a large celebrity clientele; among the luminaries who own his creations are Pierce Brosnan, Harrison Ford, Peter O'Toole, George Hamilton, Anthony Hopkins and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Of course none of them owns one as fine as The Hat. Yet.
At those prices you'd think they'd be something of a hard sell in these times, but the rarity and quality mean such hats are always at a premium. "I am happily overwhelmed with orders," Black notes. "At the moment I have orders for five hats in the $10,000 to $25,000 price range, plus a few more in the $5000 to $10,000 range." Black also has a large celebrity clientele; among the luminaries who own his creations are Pierce Brosnan, Harrison Ford, Peter O'Toole, George Hamilton, Anthony Hopkins and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Of course none of them owns one as fine as The Hat. Yet.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
hey dude7 Aug 10th 2009 12:22PM
WOW ...........................
Simon Espinal must be rolling in all of the $100 us dollars he collected from the hat monger....
Yes Simon can make as many as he wants, but that will ruin the scam of the 100K hat...
sad ....sad.....!!
JPS Aug 10th 2009 2:04PM
He seems to be more than adequately compensated. If you read this section on the BB site there are details: http://brentblack.com/pages/best_05.html
Here's an excerpt:
Before we began to work together, he could not earn enough from weaving to support his family. He worked on a fishing boat. He, his wife, and their three children, all lived with Simón’s parents. Lived in one room with a dirt floor. In an interview with World Vision Network, Simón said they often didn’t have enough to eat.
Now Simón weaves full time. His dependable, guaranteed weaving income is in the top 30% of all incomes in his country. The cash price he now receives for each hat makes him the highest paid weaver in history. He also receives an artist’s commission when one of his works of art is purchased.
When he received his artist’s commissions from the sale of his first two hats, it was more than he used to earn in three years of weaving, before El Gringo Loco came a knockin’ on his door. Jorge and Diego helped him open his first bank account. I stayed out of the way. But I was there and I felt good about it. Simón looked like he felt pretty good about it too.
Simón has received a commission from a single hat that was about equal to what he used to earn in five years. And he has received more than one such commission.