The Montecristi Panama Hat is a very special and very rare hat. These are finely woven hats made by only a small handful of exceptional weavers.
The hat gets its name from the town of its origin. However, the hats are not exclusive to Montecristi. Other nearby towns, like Pilé, also weave these hats.
Montecristi Panama Hats account for fewer than two percent (2%) of all Panama Hats made. There are very few weavers who are capable of weaving a hat of this quality.
There are no short cuts. These hats take a lot of time to weave. Even the lowest quality of the Montecristi hats take weeks to create. The finest hats take months of work.
The weaver must be close to where the straw is grown. For these fine hats, the toquilla straw is split into very thin strands. To make these fine strands, it must be done near the source, soon after harvest. Otherwise, the straw becomes too brittle.
Further limiting the number of hats available is the local weather. In Montecristi and the surrounding area, the weaving day is limited due to the heat and the humidity.
In contrast, Cuenca is at 9000 feet elevation. It is much cooler and much less humid. The weaving day can be up to three times longer than in Montecristi or Pilé.
Unfortunately some exporters mislabel hats as Montecristi that were made elsewhere. They are rarely the quality or material of a true Montecristi. If you see an inexpensive Montecristi Panama Hat listed for sale on the internet, you can be all but certain that is is not a true Montecristi.
We do not carry Montecristi hats, at least, not at this time. There are so few of these hats made that it is all but impossible to carry a sufficient inventory of these hats to satisfy our customer's desire.
