ARIEL CARMELI
SIX POINT AMBOYNA BURL & EBONY
WITH ABALONE INLAYS
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Ariel Carmeli made a big move this past year, transporting his entire shop from southern California to Virginia. For more than six months no Carmelis were being built at all, and I have been happy to get a few of the first cues coming out of his new shop. It's been worth the wait, as these first new builds are spectacular.
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This one is built from a stunning piece of amboyna burl and deep black Gabon ebony creating a rich elegant overall appearance.
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Making it easily identifiable as a Carmeli are the double silver rings with intermittant white diamonds that he so often uses in his sticks. They are exquisite in almost any setting, and as usual, they are radiant in this cue.
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In spite of the dazzling woods and stunning inlay work in this cue, it still presents a conservative, "let's go to work" attitude and appearance - dark, sleek and deadly.
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Each of the points of lush burl wood is framed in subtle veneer work, and he inlays a spearhead of luminous abalone, each outlined with white LBM.
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The inlay work in the butt sleeve, which is extensive, still allows the beautiful burl to do its visual job. Your eyes can easily get lost in the magnificence of this beautiful wood.
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The abalone in this cue is exhibit-grade, and each piece has been hand-selected to look perfect and show at its best.
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Ariel's cues have a formidable reputation for their playability, and this one is no exception. Moving his shop to a new location hasn't changed the way they're made. The machinery and workmanship remains the same - with a few upgrades - and the hit, feel and balance of his sticks is excellent, as always.
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In keeping with the overall conservative look of this elegant cue, he uses a relatively low-key set of veneer colors - white, black and white. The result is subtle and alluring.
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The closer you look at this cue, the better it gets.
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The quiet contrast between the ebony and the burl is accentuated by the subtle veneer work.
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The inlay pattern is very appealing. He uses the same spearheads as used in the base of each point, and adds eye-catching ovals, all of abalone.
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As with all his cues, the work is meticulous, detailed and perfectly executed.
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He wraps the handle with a nice piece of premium black textured leather that looks perfect on this cue, and adds a white LBM joint and butt cap to finish off its handsome look.
And as with most of the cues he's making these days, it is built with a receiver for an extension, which fits the Magliore extensions and many other generic versions.
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It's built with a 3/8 X 10 modified steel pin in a flat-faced joint. It comes with two 13mm premium maple shafts with LBM ferrules and Whitten medium tips. It weighs either 18.5 or 18.7, depending on which shaft is used (14.9, 3.6, 3.8), and is 58 inches long.
This is a very appealing cue from a well-known master cue maker who has a reputation for fine work and cues that play as good as they look.
PRICE: $5500 PLUS SHIPPING
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