Ballantyne

[Scot]

I have a 2-ply Ballantyne sweater that I bought in Harrods about 20 years ago (when Harrods was a good store). It looks almost as good today as when I bought it. The label says "Made in Scotland". I bought a 1-ply Ballantyne sweater (mistake) about 5 years ago and the "Made in Scotland" had gone. I see that the website is Italian. Does anyone know the history of the firm and whether product quality has been maintained? Good quality cashmere is very difficul to come by and that 20 year old sweater is superb - the weave seems so tight and the whole garment so well constructed. But the price of Ballantyne is quite severe - it was 20 years ago, but it seems to me to have gone up by considerably more than inflation!

Incidentally I thought this was quite an informative site on the subject of cashmere:

http://www.simplycashmere.co.uk/cashmeretruths

A familiar story, I think!

[alden]

Scot

What I can tell you is that Italian cashmere afecianados seek out pre-acquisition Ballantyne sweaters. The new ones leave much to be desired and all that remains of the great brand is the name.

If you are looking for sweaters in the old Ballantyne quality (and maybe better) you can find them at Lockie.

Cheers

[Rowly]

I have some lambswool slipovers from Lockie to wear with tweed jackets. I am very happy with them. Does anyone know where one might find a six-buttoned wool waistcoat with points so that it doesn't have a fuddy -duddy cardigan look to it?..By the way, can anyone educate us as to the properties of Geelong wool?... thanks.

[cathach]

Wool waistcoat in a handwoven tweed, some examples here : http://www.studiodonegal.ie/Mens-Clothi ... p-136-428/

And taken from http://www.harleyofscotland.com/acatalog/Yarns.html

Geelong lambswool:

Geelong lambswool is the finest snow white merino lambswool, even in length and soft and springy to handle. It's these luxurious qualities which make Geelong lambswool so desirable. The Australian merino sheep which produce this fibre have been carefully bred over the years to ensure that their young yield the finest micron lambswool in the world. Although each farm can produce tons of raw wool each year, only very few bales will be pure Geelong. Which is why it is such an exclusive commodity, ranking amongst the most luxurious of natural fibres.

[Simon A]

Sorry to burst the bubble of their marketing, but Geelong is a port city and it has no sheep at all. Geelong traditionally was the city from whence much of South-Eastern Australia's wool was shipped to the mills in Britain and the Continent, as well as other mills in the Empire in India and China's Treaty Ports. The Western District and Wimmera region of Victoria were the natural catchment area for Geelong's Port, and they continue to produce fine and superfine wool of great consistency and character.

[Simon A]

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[hectorm]

If you are looking for sweaters in the old Ballantyne quality (and maybe better) you can find them at Lockie.

Great advice. Forget Ballantyne (not even from Scotland), or Pringle, or Christian Scott, etc.
My 4-ply cable-knit crewneck by William Lockie: best cashmere sweater ever, hands down!
Bought while on holidays in Edimbra, I´ve had it for 26 years now and it´s so good that I´ve always disregarded that the sleeves fit me short.

[simonc]

Ballantyne used to operate from a number of sites, but they slowly closed these down until the last remaining site was Caerlee Mills. There were some shenanigans including a change of ownership, and essentially Ballantyne went bust. A new company was formed, Caerlee Mills, which retained the Ballantyne production machinery and much of their skilled staff including the last workforce in the UK that can undertake complex hand-intarsia work.

In the meantime the Ballantyne label has been resurrected as an all-round fashion house (including RTW tailoring and outerwear), but with no ownership connection with Scotland. To complicate matters, the brand is Italian owned but some cashmere production is undertaken in Italy and some by Caerlee Mills on a subcontract basis. Prices are much higher than buying from Caerlee directly (they have a website and will fulfill special orders), but the quality of the Scottish cashmere is good. The Italian stuff isn't bad either, just overpriced.

The brand is available from retailers such as Al Duca D'Aosta in Venice, but I suspect they are having some troubles of their own - their sole UK outlet was in Westfield shopping centre and has now closed down (doors locked, post piling up, some stock visible on the rails). The UK discount retailer TK Maxx has recently had a large consignment of both Italian- and UK-made Ballantyne-branded cashmere and wool items. Quality and overall taste has been variable, but the prices are good, £100-150 for jumpers including some hand-intarsia Scottish-made items.

[Rowly]

Geelong lambswool is the finest snow white merino lambswool, even in length and soft and springy to handle.

Thanks Cathach, and to all.

[bengal-stripe]

Berk in London's Burlington Arcade has a quite large selection of classic, Scottish-made Ballantyne sweaters:

http://www.berkcashmere.co.uk/category. ... sting&id=9

But the prices are another thing! A plain 2-ply sweater does retail at GBP 500.

Rolf

[hectorm]

Berk in London's Burlington Arcade has a quite large selection of classic, Scottish-made Ballantyne sweaters.
But the prices are another thing! A plain 2-ply sweater does retail at GBP 500.

Definitely overpriced. You´d do much better with Lockie.

[NJS]

Berk in London's Burlington Arcade has a quite large selection of classic, Scottish-made Ballantyne sweaters.
But the prices are another thing! A plain 2-ply sweater does retail at GBP 500.

Definitely overpriced. You´d do much better with Lockie.

By jingo and by Jove: how relieved am I not to need jumpers anymore! £500 is 1/80th-ish the way to a two year old Aston Martin.
NJS

[hectorm]

By jingo and by Jove: how relieved am I not to need jumpers anymore! £500 is 1/80th-ish the way to a two year old Aston Martin.

A two year old Aston Martin?
Shouldn´t we all aim for a 1964 DB5. In this case the sweater would be a bargain at only one thousandth of the car´s price.

[Rowly]

By jingo and by Jove: how relieved am I not to need jumpers anymore! £500 is 1/80th-ish the way to a two year old Aston Martin.
NJS

I'm afraid that despite your sunny climbs, you may still need your jumpers because the Aston Martin is just so cool

[Screaminmarlon]

By jingo and by Jove: how relieved am I not to need jumpers anymore! £500 is 1/80th-ish the way to a two year old Aston Martin.
NJS

I'm afraid that despite your sunny climbs, you may still need your jumpers because the Aston Martin is just so cool