Found a Montecristi today.... or did I?

[buler]

I tried reading all of the panama threads and I'm just too tired. But I bought this hat at an antique shop today and I'm wondering if its really a Montecristi?

Thought I'd run it by the experts. All I know about it is in the pictures except to say its light as a feather and feels wonderful. But for all I know there are "fake" ones out there and this is one of them.

Here are the pics. Appreciate any info you can share.

B

 

[Art Fawcett]

Congratulations Buler, you have a winner!!! There's nothing like knowledge for finding deals.

 

[buler]

Excellent!!! Thanks Art.

Man, that just made my day. I just figured there was no way I was going to run across a Montecristi on the 3rd outing to antique shops looking for hats.

Again, I want to thank Art and everyone else in this forum for sharing their knowledge.

B

 

[Garrett]

Congrats, very nice find!

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

And very, very nice avatar.

 

[Johnnysan]

Aren't you the same guy who found a cased Stetson 100 a couple of weeks ago? Holy cow, man...wanna sell your rabbit's foot? It's enough to make me put up a "for sale" sign and move to Wisconsin! :eusa_clap

 

[buler]

Aren't you the same guy who found a cased Stetson 100 just a week or so ago? Holy cow, man...wanna sell your rabbit's foot? It's enough to make me put up a "for sale" sign and move to Wisconsin! :eusa_clap

Um, yeah. And I had Jennifer Aniston stop by to pose for my avatar...

You don't want to come here. Its cold and it just snowed again yesterday.

No hats here....

B

 

[Johnnysan]

Um, yeah. And I had Jennifer Aniston stop by to pose for my avatar...

You don't want to come here. Its cold and it just snowed again yesterday.

No hats here....

B

lol lol lol lol lol

 

[Panamabob]

Looks fantastic.

 

[Wil Tam]

great find!

nicely done! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[buler]

The weave

Can someone tell me what the weave count comes out as? Not sure I'm counting right.

There is a pencil marking on the side of the inside of the crown that says SJZ
and what looks like 7 1 4 C. The sweatband measures to just shy of 7 1/4.

B

The "light" shot

 

[Carlisle Blues]

The initials represent the weaver.

 

[Panamabob]

I'd say the weave count is 700-800 range.

The initials sometimes are the weaver, sometimes the middleman, and sometimes the buyer. There are hundreds of hats out there with my RW in them. When the batches go into the sulfur box, they put initials on the hats so that they get back to the correct place.

 

[buler]

Up for auction

If anyone is interested in the hat, check the classifieds.

thanks
B

 

[buler]

Woven Edge

Someone asked about the edge finish on the hat. Its a great detail that I hadn't even paid attention to. I had to get out a magnifying glass to understand what was done. I can't believe someone can weave like that!

Here is a super macro closeup of the edge. With this extreme macro it makes it look "easy", but you have to see it in your hands to understand the craftsmanship of this tiny, tight weaving pattern.

B

 

[macfly]

wow. amazing find. congrats!
wish i could stumble on one of those.
wear it well!