Hello Shoo, you didn't miss that much. That Ballantyne was only 4 ply and loose knit. I saw it in time to buy it, and compare it to other Shawl Collars I own. Find it to be of lesser quality that current 4 ply Lockies or John Laings. Yes! It was made at Caerlee Mills, but it was evident -at least on my eyes- that the Mill better days were gone. Even the seller knew it, as it had a reserve price of only £200 -for a NOS Ballantyne cashmere SCC- and it went for 2 listing rounds. The fugly Fred Astaire on the other hand, is damn ugly for sure, but truly has an intarsia knitting technique of the highest Ballantyne quality of the late 20th/early 2000's. An ugly work of art, indeed! That jumper had a reserve price of £250 and went for almost 3 listing rounds. The seller lowered the 'buy it now' to £200 and was sold within hours. A fugly limited edition Ballantyne intarsia that at the time -~25 years ago-, went for $1,200usd. That intarsia quality, its so close to be a lost art, as there are very few former Ballantyne scottish knitters -less than 10- that can accomplish that level of artistry. If that Ballantyne Fred Astaire intarsia was good enough for RJ Man, its good enough for any Ballantyne or intarsia collector.
By the way, love to see the design in your double sided 4 ply intarsia.