Thankyou, i put these in my cart on Amazon last week but figured they were fake . More on reddit.com

They are as long as you get actual Egyptian Cotton. The best way to tell if the cotton is really 'Egyptian Cotton' is the pricetag ;) Primo brands like Sferra, Frette, Pratesi, etc. will usually use true Egyptian Cotton in their products, but again, you have to pay for it. There are different grades of Egyptian Cotton as well, and what you really want is extra-long staple one-ply Egyptian Cotton since that is usually the best quality. Giza Cotton is the highest grade of Egyptian Cotton you can get and usually for a 'good' set you'll have to pay at least $1000 for it. Anything less than that is not true Giza Cotton (or it's a shittier version of it and not good quality). If you want really good Egyptian Cotton sheets you'll more than likely be spending at least $500 for a King set, to start. Anything less than that would be considered 'mid-tier' and is, as it is so-named, mid-tier and not anything spectacular. Don't get me wrong, mid-tier is not bad and can be pretty good sheets for the price, but there's something to be said for using high-quality Egyptian Cotton sheets that are crafted by master craftsmen (usually that is sheets made in Italy or Portugal). That's why the best sheet sets you can get are ones that are made in Italy (the best), or Portugal (a close second, but still not as good); US-woven brands sadly don't compare and the loss of the manufacturing base in the US has meant that the art of linens have been mostly lost to time thanks to outsourcing. Italy and Portugal, on the other hand, haven't had that issue and still retain their centuries-long mastery of the craft and it definitely shows. If you get an opportunity to feel some swatches from brands like Sferra or Frette then their Giza Cotton offerings are definitely not to be overlooked (it's absolutely wonderful, especially the sateen offerings). I had the pleasure of feeling Sferra's entire line at my local specialty linen shop via its swatches and I gotta say... their Giza Cotton swatch (and the Milos line, too) were buttery-soft and I can't unfeel them now :( But, from my experience, yes: they're worth it. But you'll be crying buckets of tears from buying really good quality ones since they're so damn expensive. I had to compromise and get Peacock Alley's Soprano sheets since they were the cheapest 'primo' brand/model I could get for the price with decent quality extra-long staple Egyptian Cotton (made in Portugal). I adore them and don't regret it, but if I could have, I'd have gotten Sferra's Giza 45 sateen weave sheets :( More on reddit.com

To answer your question. The Giza 45 is the highest grade of Egyptian cotton. The percale vs sateen is the weave finish. A percale is a harder, and flatter weave. It means there are fewer small fibers that act as loft to feel soft and increase warmth. That is why they say “cool” with percale. Sateen has lots of very small fibers that stick out and gives it its soft feel and warming sensation. The sateen can eventually loose its softness and start to rough up like an old t-shirt. Percale starts off hard and eventually will soften up. Both will last for years. Especially if you care for them properly. (Avoid fabric softeners with sheets) For cleaning and removing stains, fairly equal, but a slight skew towards percale.

If you are looking at high end sheets, I also recommend looking at linen instead of cotton.

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It's not really a gimmick in the sense that Supima cotton is absolutely 100% long-staple cotton. Pima cotton, on the other hand, can have some supima in it, but it probably won't be the long-fibers or be 100% Supima. Supima is basically the standard of 100% long-staple cotton in the US and is absolute quality, no matter which way you cut it. It's not a gimmick like Egyptian Cotton is (even if the tag says it's Egyptian Cotton, if it doesn't say it's long-staple or extra-long-staple cotton then it's not 'real' Egyptian Cotton). Supima (not Pima) cotton is always 100% long-staple... no need to label the 'long-staple' description as required (since it would be redundant to label it as such). The reason it's not as widespread is because it's pretty rare (and expensive). Supima cotton makes up 1% of cotton worldwide, since it's grown in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California only (as far as I can tell). The few sheets I've bought that are Supima cotton, though, are holding up well (as far as I can tell) and they're definitely smoother/softer than regular cotton. They might not be as nice as 'true' Egyptian Cotton, but they're definitely higher quality long-staple cotton. I also like that it is truly 100% long-staple as long as 'Supima' is on the label. If the label doesn't say 'Supima' or long-staple cotton (or extra-long-staple cotton in the higher quality bedding) then the sheets/bedding is made of short-staple cotton or are not 100% made of long-staple cotton. The 'Supima' label ensures you, as a customer, know that it's made only of 100% long-staple cotton and is not a gimmick. Hope that helps. More on reddit.com