A-grade is the highest classification of cashmere fibre, reserved for the longest and finest fibres combed from the goat's undercoat. Grade matters because fibre length determines strength: long fibres stay locked into the yarn, so an A-grade sweater resists pilling, holds its shape, and lasts for many years. Elle & Riley uses only 100% A-grade cashmere, with an average fibre diameter of 15.2–15.8 microns, across our entire core collection.
What Is A-Grade Cashmere—and Does the Grade Really Matter?
How Is Cashmere Actually Graded?
Cashmere is classified by two measurements of the raw fibre: diameter (fineness, measured in microns) and length. The finest, longest fibres earn grade A; shorter and coarser fibres fall to grades B and C, and below that sit the offcuts and leftover yarns that make very cheap "cashmere" possible.
Grade A — the longest, finest fibres. Ours average 15.2–15.8 microns. The softest hand-feel; resists pilling; holds its shape for a decade or more with care.
Grade B — shorter, slightly coarser fibres. Noticeably less soft; pills sooner; loses its shape earlier.
Grade C — the shortest, coarsest fibres. Rough by cashmere standards; pills quickly and persistently.
A micron is a thousandth of a millimetre—for context, a human hair is roughly 70 microns. At 15.2–15.8 microns, an A-grade fibre is around a fifth the diameter of a hair, which is precisely why it feels the way it does.
Why Does Fibre Length Matter So Much?
Because length is strength. Yarn is made by twisting fibres together; long fibres wrap fully into the twist and stay there, while short fibres are only partly held and work their way loose with friction. Escaping fibre ends are exactly what pilling is. This is why fibre length—not softness on the shelf—is the truest predictor of how a sweater behaves in its third year. Long fibres also give the knit its memory: an A-grade sweater recovers its shape after wearing, where short-fibre knits gradually sag.
Why Do We Refuse to Use Anything Else?
Honestly—we probably could use a lower grade in some pieces, and many customers might not notice at first. That is precisely the point: they would notice in year two. When someone invests in an Elle & Riley piece, we want it to be the highest quality we can possibly make, because our whole philosophy is buy once, buy well. A-grade fibre, hand-linked seams, and small production runs all serve the same promise: a garment you will still be reaching for in ten years.
Can a Brand Fake a Grade Claim?
Grading has no single global regulator, so the word "cashmere" on a label spans an enormous quality range—and yes, some brands use the language loosely. Your protections as a buyer are specificity and behavior. Specificity: a brand that publishes its actual numbers, as we do with our 15.2–15.8 micron average, is making a checkable claim; vague "finest cashmere" language is not. Behavior: the shelf test and the seam test from our quality guide will tell you what the label may not—fluffy yarn and cut-and-sew seams reveal a corner cut, whatever the marketing says.
What Does the Grade Mean for the Price?
A-grade fibre is more scarce—only a fraction of each goat's annual undercoat combing meets the standard—so it costs meaningfully more as a raw material, before a garment is ever knitted. That cost flows through honestly to the price of a quality sweater. It also flows through to its lifespan, which is why grade is best judged on cost-per-wear: a garment that lasts ten years at twice the price of one that lasts one year is not twice as expensive—it is five times cheaper. We walk through the full arithmetic in our cost-per-wear guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is A-grade the same as baby cashmere?
No. A-grade describes fibre quality; baby cashmere describes fibre source—the first combing of a goat under two years old, collectable only once, finer and softer still. Our Baby Cashmere collection is made entirely from it.
Does grade affect pilling?
Directly. Pilling is short fibre ends escaping the yarn; A-grade's long fibres stay locked in, so pilling is a lot more minimal and stops after the fibre settles.
Why is A-grade cashmere more expensive?
Scarcity of the raw fibre, demand, plus the construction worthy of it—hand-linked seams and small runs. The premium buys the decade.
What micron count is best for cashmere?
Finer is softer: top-tier cashmere sits under 16 microns. Ours averages 15.2–15.8.
