A 14.4 MICRON Superfine fleece wool is extremely rare at the Western Wool Centre (WWC), but Martina Delorenzi knew it was special the minute she saw the sample.
Ms Delorenzi, 22, is Fremantle Wool Trading's wool valuer.
She is from Biella, nestled against the base of the alps between Turin and Milan in northern Italy and the heart of that country's famed textile industry.
Ms Delorenzi grew up with top quality wools and a family knowledge of textiles.
Her father Maro is an agent in specialty fibres - mainly cashmere - for the legendary Italian company Pantex SPA in Biella which specialises in importing fine raw wool and manufacturing it into wool tops and open tops.
A family company, Pantex SPA, is run by brothers Piercarlo and Giovanni Zedda, who are renowned throughout the textile industry.
Piercarlo Zedda has been vice president of the International Wool Textile Organisation and president of the Italian Wool Trade Association.
Ms Delorenzi's older brother Filippo is a designer for the Canali brand in Milano, formed in 1934.
Visiting Australia on a working holiday visa, Ms Delorenzi has worked for Fremantle Wool Trading for almost a year.
Her job is to trawl through the specifications of lots listed for auction in broker catalogues at the WWC looking for wool that might match client requirements - Pantex SPA is a Fremantle Wool Trading client - inspect samples and determine potential values.
Ms Delorenzi said when she saw the two-bale lot of 14.4 micron Merino Superfine fleece in the Nutrien Ag Solutions' catalogue recently and inspected the sample, she knew it was high quality and high value.
"It was a really good one (lot), the finest I've seen here," Ms Delorenzi said.
The wool, produced by Chris Norton, Narrikup, was 87 millimetres long, had a staple strength of 25N/kt, yielding 74.2 per cent and with low vegetable matter content of just 0.3pc.
She alerted her boss, Fremantle Wool Trading director John Bradbury, who confirmed her assessment and sent a valuation to Pantex SPA.
Within 24 hours Pantex SPA confirmed it wanted the wool and set a price parameter which was conveyed to contract wool buyer Phil Roberts.
On the next auction day Mr Roberts bid up to 2407 cents per kilogram for the greasy wool - the highest price paid for wool in Australia that day - to claim the lot for Fremantle Wool Trading and ultimately Pantex SPA.
"It (wool) will go into a very high quality worsted yarn - the best of the best," Mr Bradbury said.
Ms Delorenzi's visa is due to expire in September but she hopes to obtain another so she can stay on in Perth.
A competition skier back home in Biella, she now loves our climate.
"I prefer the beach (to the snowfields), she said.
