What Is a Sable Under the Tree?

The 1953 song details a wish list featuring a number of extravagant gifts that they hope will appear under the Christmas tree, including a platinum mine, a yacht and decorations from Tiffany in New York. Most of the items are easily understood, but the sable may be unfamiliar to those who are not conversant with expensive furs.

Sable fur is harvested from Martes zibellina, a species of marten indigenous to northern Asia. This marten is a mostly carnivorous mammal with a thick winter coat that is light brown on the stomach and darker brown on the back. Some sables have a light "bib," or patch, on the throat. They live in dense pine, spruce or cedar forests in the northern regions of Russia and China.

Martens have been hunted for their fur, called sable, for centuries. The Russian government holds a monopoly on the sable trade and auctions off sable furs three times a year, with all proceeds going to the Russian government.

According to the Fur Commission USA, the highest-quality sable comes from the Barguzin Valley in Russia. Barguzin sable is often called crown sable or imperial sable because its use was reserved for the Russian ruling family during Tsarist times. Other sources of sable include Canada, China and Japan.

Like most luxury goods, sable comes in various grades or levels of quality. Place of origin is a prime consideration, with Barguzin sable being the most expensive, and Chinese or Japanese being the least costly. Color and weight are also factored into the quality assessment and may be included in the product details.

The best-quality fur is deep and has even, silver-tipped guard hairs. It is a deep brown with blue undertones. Lighter sables, with a red or amber color, are less costly.

In Tsarist times, sables were caught in the wild. In the early 20th century, their numbers were severely depleted and preserves were set up to protect and replenish the species. Today's sables may be culled from the populations on these preserves, or they may be farmed from stringently controlled breeding stock.

Sable fur is most often made into coats, stoles or wraps warm enough to keep even carolers warm on a winter night. This is the most likely interpretation of the song's lyrics: The singer wants a sable coat or wrap—the most expensive and most elegant possible use of the fur. Matching accessories, including gloves, muffs, earmuffs and scarves, are also available in many furriers' stores.