Mink fur is one of the most valuable types of fur. For its properties and magnificent appearance, it is highly valued by experts of the fur market, the raw materials are used for tailoring premium segment. The fur is notable for its lightness, durability, special plasticity and luster of the pile, excellent consumer properties, and over the years of selection the color range of natural raw materials has expanded significantly, supplemented with new noble shades.
Mink fur: varieties of raw materials
The mink is a small animal of the Mustelidae family, the mink fur industry has traditionally been widespread in the natural habitat of the animal. The first fur farms, where they began to breed mink in captivity, appeared in North America, later fur farms became a popular business in Russia and European countries, and minks imported from America marked the beginning of the selection of two varieties of this breed, Russian and Scandinavian. In the world market of furs, this raw material, as well as the skins of the North American mink are considered the highest quality, and is especially appreciated.
On the market of finished fur products, clothing is presented, for the tailoring of which one or several types of raw materials were used. The fur of the Scandinavian mink is most widely distributed and makes up about 80% of the global fur market. This fur is distinguished by a wide palette of natural natural shades, and depending on the variety, the padding and the length of the guard hair have different thicknesses. Saga Furs, Scanblack, Velvet and others are considered the most popular varieties of Scandinavian mink.
The North American mink is a more rare variety of fur, its fur is especially valued for its deep and noble dark shades. The mink of the Russian selection is fur with a particularly dense and dense undercoat, a short nap and an incredibly delicate surface. Russian mink retains heat better than other varieties, which makes this raw material especially valuable in the climate conditions of most Russian regions.
How to identify a fake?
Natural mink fur is valued not only for the noble shine, softness and unique tactile properties, but also for the warmth that fur clothing gives at any temperature. With all the variety of artificial materials, none of them can compete with the mink in its ability to retain heat. This advantage of mink fur is explained by the peculiarity of the animal’s hair: in its natural habitat, smooth guard hair and thick underfur protection reliably protect the animal from moisture and cold.
Due to the high cost of furs, the mink fur is often forged, skilfully made synthetic counterparts are issued for noble raw materials. Tips of professional furriers will help you distinguish natural mink fur from a fake:
- Natural fur demonstrates the richness of shades, the animal’s skin is unevenly colored, smooth transitions of tones are noticeable. Artificial fur is a canvas that is uniform in color;
- Ostev hair of natural fur has a slight thickening at the base and gradually tapers towards the end. Pile faux fur does not have such a feature – it is not difficult to notice under the usual magnifying glass;
- When igniting natural fur there is a characteristic smell, similar to the smell of burning human hair, there is a crackling sound. The burning of artificial fur is accompanied by a strong smell of plastic, the material is melted with acrid smoke.
Often under the guise of mink, unscrupulous manufacturers and sellers offer products from the fur of less valuable animals – gopher, marmot, honorik, rabbit. You can also distinguish them by some signs.
