World's Most Expensive Socks

The socks, which come in their own presentation box, are only available in golden-brown as the vicuña, a llama-like camelid that hails from Peru, produces wool so delicate that, at just 12 micrometres in diameter, the dying process would damage it beyond repair. However, those who want a pair will need to place their orders quickly, as only 10 pairs of the luxury socks have ever been made!

The socks are part of German hosiery specialist FALKE's autumn/winter collection, which also includes 20 limited edition pullovers, created from the same fabric, and each worth approximately £2,015. The range, which offers a choice of roll or v-necklines, offers a luxury spin on the brand's mainline menswear collection, most of which is crafted from merino wool, silk and cashmere.

'The fine wool and thermal properties communicate the uniqueness of the yarn’, explain the company in a description on the website.
'FALKE is the first clothing manufacturer producing socks made of this premium wool. Vicuña wool is the rarest and most expensive wool in the world, being softer, lighter and warmer than any other wool. Since the fibres are very delicate, the wool’s natural golden colour remains unchanged.'

Dubbed the world's most expensive fabric, vicuña wool is quite literally worth its weight in gold because of its rarity and the difficulty involved in obtaining it. Vicuñas, a relative of the llama and an ancestor of the alpaca, are the national animals of Peru and live high in the Andes Mountains. Their wool is the finest of all animal-derived fibres.

An endangered species, vicuñas cannot be domesticated, so all wool is taken from wild animals, which can only be caught and sheared once every two years. If that wasn't enough, each animal produces just one pound of wool each, making the wool rare as well as hard to get hold of.
However, for those who can afford to splash out £726 on a pair of socks, rarity is likely to be just as much of a reason to buy as keeping their feet warm.