CHRIS NITTI
2015 SPECIAL COLLECTION ENTRY
INTERNATIONAL CUE COLLECTOR SHOW
WESTMINSTER, COLORADO
"GREAT CITIES OF THE WORLD"
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO
HOT AIR BALLOON CAPITOL OF THE WORLD
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This is another beautiful creation by master cuemaker Chris Nitti. This cue is all pantograph work, which makes it more unbelievable. Each of the little balloons is made up of multiple layers of wood. Every one is different. Each of the smaller balloons in the nose consists of approximately 25-30 separate pieces of wood, each dyed and laid in separately. The larger balloons in the butt sleeve contain about 100 separate pieces. The amount of time and work in this cue is incalculable.
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This cue was Chris' entry in the International Cue Collector Show in 2015. The theme was "Great Cities of the World." Chris chose Albuquerque, known as the "Hot Air Balloon Capitol of the World." It is basically an ebony cue ... which, by the way, hits like a ton!
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I love the way he "floats" the balloons against the dark (ebony) night sky with dozens of silver dots which look like stars. The balloons are strategically placed and set in at various angles so that the whole thing looks like host of balloons floating through a night sky.
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At the bottom of the butt sleeve he circles it with mountains - the Sandias that surround Albuquerque. Each individual mountain is made up of 12 separate pieces of wood. He then adds a pure ivory butt cap, with the ICCS entry logo engraved.
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It's difficult to say enough about this astonishing cue. He adds beautiful ivory rings above and below the wrap, at the joint and on the ring collars of each shaft. Each ring is made up of a silver ring above and below the ivory ring, and within each ring he adds -incredibly - many more very small balloons, again each one made up of multiple layers of wood. I can't imagine the work and time that was put into this cue.
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In these closeup photos, you can get some idea of the amount of detail in these inlays.
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Even the joint protectors are works of art in their own right. Again - inlaid balloons of multiple pieces of wood, capped in ivory and wrapped with the special ivory rings with more small balloons. And, for special display only - a separate joint protector for the butt. It is a complete miniature of a hot air balloon. Obviously, this one won't fit in a traditional case, but it looks great when the cue is displayed in a rack.
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Of course, like all Nitti cues, this one hits great. It's built with a flat-faced joint of ivory with a stainless steel radial pin, and comes with two 13mm shafts. it's not likely that someone will play with this one, but they certainly could. And in spite of all the work and material in this cue, it weighs just over 19 ounces.
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This cue is a rare find. I like to think that I've seen almost all of Chris' nicest cues, and this one is in a class by itself. I don't know of any other cuemaker that puts the kind of time into an individual cue that Chris does. The amount of work and detail is simply unbelievable. This is a highly collectible cue.
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