Panama hat more hats than they ever could in Ecuador. The hats were sold to gold prospectors traveling through Panama to California during the historic Californian Gold Rush. Travelers would tell people admiring their hats that they bought them in Panama. So, the hats quickly became known as “Panama hats.” Soon after at the 1855 World's Fair in Paris, Panama hats were featured for the first time on a global scale. However, the Fair’s catalog did not mention Ecuador as its country of origin. It listed this type of hat as a “cloth hat” even though it was clearly not made out
Panama hat as "Montecristis", after the town of Montecristi, where they are produced. The rarest and most expensive Panama hats are hand-woven with up to 3000 weaves per square inch. In February 2014, Simon Espinal, an Ecuadorian 47-year-old Panama hat weaver considered to be among the best at his craft, set a world record by creating a Panama hat with four thousand weaves per inch that took eight months to handcraft from beginning to end. According to popular lore, a "superfino" Panama hat can hold water, and, when rolled up, pass through a wedding ring. Despite their name, Panama hats have never