This cue was made in 2008 by Andy Gilbert, and delivered to a customer at the Houston ICCS. It was one of his first solid ivory-handled cues and it set the bar for several others he has made since. Its relatively simple design, accentuated by meticulous inlays of silver, ivory and mother of pearl, sets a high standard for this type of cue.
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Andy has now made about seven ivory handled cues, total. I recently had a chance to buy this one when it came back on the market, and couldn't pass it up.
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There are a lot of things I like about this cue, but one thing I especially like is the way the cue views from different perspectives. If you view it from one angle, it looks like one cue, and when you rotate it 90 degrees, it almost looks like a different cue. You can see what I mean by comparing the two pictures above and the two below.
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As you can see, he started with a simple ebony forearm and butt sleeve and the ivory handle, and then carefully added long, mitred boxes in various locations, with generous inlays of silver, black-lip mother of pearl, ebony and ivory. He uses a number of very simple Native American designs to achieve a great overall look.
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The mitred boxes really highlight this cue. They look especially classy because he outlined each with a final silver veneer on the outside of the other veneers in each box.
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I think Andy did a great job of intermingling several different materials throughout this cue without making it look too busy. The design really holds together well. It is carefully thought out and executed.
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| There's certainly no shortage of ivory in this cue. With all the large ivory boxes, ivory joint, ivory butt cap, numerous inlays, and of course, the solid ivory handle, this cue is loaded up. He even puts a tip of ivory on the end of the joint pin, reminiscent of the way Bill Schick does a lot of his cues.
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(Please excuse the color distortion in the picture above. The color on this one came out a little "yellow" but I wanted to use it anyway to show the great design and detail. The other pictures are more reflective of the true color of the ivory - it's nice and white.)
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Not only is there a lot of work and detail in this cue, it's all done with exceptional craftsmanship. It's as close to perfect as a handmade cue can be.
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The ringwork in this cue is nice, as well. He uses overlapping diamonds of silver and mother of pearl, alternating around the cue, and ties them together with double rings at all locations.
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This cue is made with Andy's 3/8 X 10 pin and a flat-faced wood to ivory joint. This cue will probably never be acquired to play with, but I've hit a few balls with it, and it's nice to know that it really hits well. It's a tad on the heavy side at 20.2 ounces, but not bad considering all the ebony and silver.
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It comes with two 13mm shafts with, of course, ivory ferrules. Everything on this stick is perfect - it's never been played or chalked, and it's in immaculate condition.
PRICE: $13,500 plus shipping.
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