I touched a clump of Australian wool, and noted how superior my South American sheep was to its antipodean cousin.
He touched a clump of hard wearing medium or strong merino wool; ultrafine and superfine merino come in softer and finer than his 21 micron South American sheep.
And a not insignificant fraction of it comes from one region, Hamilton in Victoria:
“ Sheep grazing and agriculture are the primary industries in the surrounding shire, the area producing as much as 15% of Australia's total wool clip.”
Suits like carpets have to be a compromise between fineness and longevity. 21 is probably as fine as weaves strong twill suitable for a modern suit. It's a fucktonne finer than the Harris Tweed in my ten euro jacket I got in cliqnancourt.
I’m also obligated to laugh at that 21. However New Zealand’s wool industry is a showdown of what it once was, and unfortunately that’s come at the expense of our lakes and rivers. Thanks dairy.
Not to mention the other Antipodean (New Zealand) marino which goes down to 11 microns. 18.5 microns is considered the premium suiting quality and there is not much point in going finer.
https://www.isobaa.com/en-au/blogs/tales-from-the-eweniverse...