AMAZING BARGUZIN RUSSIAN SABLE JACKET & HAT BOTH MINT

Sable
Sable are actually marten - the finest, most luxurious and expensive marten. The best sable comes from Barguzin in the former USSR and is denser and silkier than Canadian sable, while Chinese and Japanese sable deserve only a mention in the same sentence with Russian sable. Most sable are wild and protected in preserves, although some sable have been and are ranched, which means that other countries could raise sable if the Russians would let breeding pairs be exported. Unlike Americans, who sold breeding pairs of mink freely, the Russians have strictly controlled sable.

The Russian government has a monopoly on sable. V/O Sojuzpushnina, a Russian trade organization, holds fur auctions in January, July and October, at which sables (and other furs) are auctioned. The proceeds go to the government. This system is little different from the system in czarist times when a good portion of the imperial family's income came from the sale of sable, except that the royal family sold sable only to other crowned heads. The finest sable, Barguzin sable, was reserved for the czar and his family's use, which is why it's called crown or imperial sable.

Sable may also be the Golden Fleece of Greek mythology. According to one story, the fleece that Jason and his Argonauts sought when they sailed east - probably to the Black Sea - could have been sable.

Today, anyone who can afford sable can own a sable coat. Prime sable is deeply furred with even, silvery-tipped guard hairs, making it silkier than mink. The color is a rich brown with a blue cast. Golden sable, which is a reddish or amber color, is less expensive. All sable, nevertheless, is very expensive - but as warm and light in weight as it is heavy in price.