Please help me choose a Scottish cashmere sweater! William Lockie, Hawico, Johnstons of Elgin, and more.

These are my goals/requirements:

  1. Crewneck is a requirement
  2. High quality, low diameter, long staple cashmere is a requirement and unfortunately guaranteeing that you're buying that seems quite difficult.
  3. Avoiding branding is a virtual requirement.
  4. Both durability and feeling great to the touch are extremely high priorities (hopefully not in too much conflict with one another).
  5. I'll pay for high quality materials/construction, but I will not pay for brand/prestige. I suspect that will put the budget around 1k, but I'm flexible.
  6. I'm not sure if it is a sizing or design issue, but I don't like when the stomach of the sweater flops over a tight hem like this. I prefer cleaner looks like this or this.
  7. Stylistically, input is very much welcome! I want something that is fairly form-fitting, but is not squeezing me and is loose enough to comfortably move. I'd like something that looks great when worn casually (maybe dark wash jeans or chinos) and also looks great when worn with smarter outfits (let's say trousers and a sport/top/over coat as an outer layer). However, I could specialize and buy multiple sweaters if necessary. I won't be wearing a collared shirt under my sweaters (just not my style). I suspect this general approach will point me toward neutral colors (navy, gray, cream and maybe green or maroon) and away from cable knits (although perhaps more subtle texture or marl sweaters may work).

These are the top brands I've come across so far:

  1. For about $400 Colhay’s might be my favorite because they seem to be the most transparent and meticulous about materials and construction. They use cashmere from the Todd & Duncan mill (which seems to be renowned), which is 15.5 microns in diameter and 38 mm in length. Apparently each part of the sweater is knitted individually into a particular shape and then hand linked together before being washed in Scottish water. I suppose the downside here is that they’re a pretty new company. They sell a sweater in a fitted cut with 2 ply cashmere in a few different colors, but sizing is limited.
  2. Ranging from $675-800 Hawico seems like a great option. However, their site has PR word salad, but never says anything specific/meaningful about materials or construction. Through email they said they primarily use Todd and Duncan yarn, but sometimes use Biagoli or Lori Piana from Italy for certain colors. At any rate, they sell the Saunders in a 3 ply that uses 3 different colors, which I think I like, but it's really hard to tell from the website's pictures so input is welcome. The Michael is 2 ply with saddle shoulders that is perhaps bit more on the casual side of things. The Penryn has a single ply and maybe a simpler more refined style. The Paul is a single ply and has a pique fabric, which I'm unsure of.
  3. For roughly $370 William Lockie has a couple nice options. The Melrose is a two ply option with saddle shoulders that perhaps make it more casual. The Oxton is a single ply option without the saddle shoulders. Both have turn back cuffs, which strike me as being not so "clean", but I've never seen them in real life so I'm not sure. Looking over their site, I couldn’t find much specific information about the materials they use, but they had a video that seemed to suggest that they’re well constructed.
  4. For $650-1,300 Johnstons of Elgin offer a few sweaters, but they provide almost no information about materials or construction, which makes it tough to trust them. This one is a 2 ply option, but may be designed to really hang over the hem in a way I don't love. This one is a 4 ply option with a fisherman rib design that may make it more casual and it also may be designed to hang over the hem as well. This one is another 4 ply option, but with a waffle texture and I'm not sure if it is too casual? This one doesn't give a ply count, but it has a marl design that I'd like input on. Finally, this one doesn't give a ply count and has a donegal design that I'm sure about either?

Having said all of that, I suppose these are the 5 big things I’d like input on:

  1. Any advice on cashmere in general might be beneficial.
  2. Any input on the listed options and how well they meet my goals would be high valued.
  3. Any input on various styles is highly welcome; I'm a beginner.
  4. I'm open to other brands as well so feel free to make the case. In fact, I came across brands like Pringle, McGeorge, Ballantyne, John Laing, and so on. However, it sounds like they've either disappeared entirely or closed up their mills and now only do the design work. So I assume buying there would yield lower quality.
  5. Should I consider Italian options like Malo, Fedeli, Della Ciana, Cruciani, Gran Sasso, and so on? I'm under the impression that they may be softer, but that comes at the price of durability/longevity. However, maybe the feel is truly worth it, I'm not sure?