Presented by Simon "The Diamond" D'Vali
The UK's foremost authority on collectable cues
An article on cue collecting and collectable cues
Custom cues? Aren’t they expensive? Well, no…..not really.
Over the next few months I will be providing Pro9’ers with articles on cues and cue makers. This is to give an insight into a largely overlooked piece of equipment that we all take for granted (in the UK at least) but could not live without.
Click on "Read More..." for the details.
Many of you will recall the Gus Szamboti cue on ebay that I was bidding on. I was outbid at $10,500. Things started to slow up at $11,000. Eventually the seller took the cue off ebay and sold it privately for $16,000. I found out he took a private sale from a member of AZ Billiards. Such was the interest in this cue, it had its own thread on AZ. This cue really did receive worldwide attention, as it was a rare piece and it has never been on the market before. Some people were shocked at the price but to others there was a realisation that there is a whole new world of buying and collecting cues.
In future articles, I will look at the classic makers such as Gus and his peers. I would like to focus mainly on the current crop of cue makers and some of my personal favourites. I will share my stories and dealings with the makers I have commissioned cues from.
Collecting is something that I will cover later also. A huge subject!!!!! I do indeed buy cues to collect but more importantly (even more important than investment value), they have to all play good. If I don’t like the way a cue plays, it doesn’t stay in my collection for long. This is all, of course, personal preference. I will always be on hand to offer advice on purchases or provide valuations. These don’t necessarily have to be custom cues, I started on production cues and believe me, there are some great production cues out there. If you have cue questions, pm me or email me at anytime. If I feel the answer would benefit a number of people, I will post it up at the bottom of the article I am writing at the time.
What about cue cases? Another related hobby of mine is collecting cue cases. I shall cover an article or two on this subject also. Man, the wife really loves me, lol!
Every pro event I go to, I see more and more players using beautiful, well constructed cues….both custom and production. It gives me a sense of relief that I am not on my own, he, he! Players are becoming more and more tuned to their particular requirements from a cue and eventually bite the bullet and have a cue commissioned. The first maker I will cover has been making cues for 29 years and is a close friend….Wayne Holmes. Wayne agreed to take time out to do an interview with me. I hope you find it useful/interesting. Watch this space.
Diamond
PS: The 3rd cue from the top in this picture is the cue that was mentioned on Pro 9 a while ago. Efren’s personal Judd Fuller.
Whilst we are on the subject, the top cue is a Paul Mottey owned by BPPPA player Colin Bradley, the 2nd cue from top is a very rare Murray Tucker I bought from Bobby Lee, the 6th cue is the first ever Sledgehammer in the UK, now owned by Simon Widlo and the 2nd cue from the bottom is a Dale Perry now owned by BPPPA junior, Kyle Sarson. Just some of the UK boys that have taken the plunge!