Help with info about Orchid pool cue?

[vintagecollectibles831]

Long shot, but I am curious if anyone here knows any info about this Orchid cue?

I might be wrong, but I think these cues may have been made by the same cue maker who made Falcon cues..

This one appears to be a piloted 5/16x14 joint pin. Does that appear to be the case?

These are not my pictures, but it is a cue that I am getting, along with a Nova cue that I found. Mostly just excited about the Nova cue that I scored.

This Orchid cue is basically just a bonus, but not sure if it is worth much of anything.

The butt sleeve design reminds me of the Color of Money Joss cue.

The cue does have a Falcon look to it, I believe. And, it does have the same joint that Falcon used on their cues.

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[Chopdoc]

Orchid was (is?) owned by Ernie Chen of Falcon cues. Generally low end Taiwan but the better ones were pretty decent and they had a "pro" line sold in Europe. They also had decal cues.

I didn't see that one in my catalogs. Looks like real inlays. Could fetch 100 to 125 maybe even 150 on ebay if in perfect condition. With that butt cap turned down, I don't know that it's worth much of anything.

 

[vintagecollectibles831]

Orchid was (is?) owned by Ernie Chen of Falcon cues. Generally low end Taiwan but the better ones were pretty decent and they had a "pro" line sold in Europe. They also had decal cues.

I didn't see that one in my catalogs. Looks like real inlays. Could fetch 100 to 125 maybe even 150 on ebay if in perfect condition. With that butt cap turned down, I don't know that it's worth much of anything.

Thanks. Have you ever seen those Orchid USA cues? I know they were not made in the US, but I recall them saying "Orchid USA" in the butt sleeve. Some of those looked really nice.

 

[Chopdoc]

Thanks. Have you ever seen those Orchid USA cues? I know they were not made in the US, but I recall them saying "Orchid USA" in the butt sleeve. Some of those looked really nice.

Yes, I have 3 of the "best" ones. I don't remember if any of mine might have "USA". There were actually several varieties of logos, markings, etc., some of which were not marketed in the US. Whether or not it is marked USA does not seem to have anything to do with the quality from what I have seen, some of those are nice, some are crap.

Example cue from Germany:

 

[vintagecollectibles831]

Yes, I have 3 of the "best" ones. I don't remember if any of mine might have "USA". There were actually several varieties of logos, markings, etc., some of which were not marketed in the US. Whether or not it is marked USA does not seem to have anything to do with the quality from what I have seen, some of those are nice, some are crap.

Example cue from Germany:
View attachment 839762

View attachment 839763

View attachment 839764

That is really nice. Looks very high quality.

 

[Chopdoc]

That is really nice. Looks very high quality.

About the level of Adam/Helmstetter cues. As far as I can tell that's real ebony as well. The values of such cues get dragged down by the source and the fact the same brand sold crappy decal cues. Also, many won't like branding and logos on a cue in general. You will notice that many extremely valuable cues have no logo or signature at all.

 

[vintagecollectibles831]

About the level of Adam/Helmstetter cues. As far as I can tell that's real ebony as well. The values of such cues get dragged down by the source and the fact the same brand sold crappy decal cues. Also, many won't like branding and logos on a cue in general. You will notice that many extremely valuable cues have no logo or signature at all.

Yeah, those points really remind me of Helmstetter too. Helmstetter did 8 point cues like that.

That Blue Bird, plus the writing on the joint collars looks really cool, I think.

Speaking of cues from Germany, I really want to try an Arthur cue someday.

 

[Chopdoc]

The butt sleeve design reminds me of the Color of Money Joss cue.

Certain design elements have been copied and repeated all over the place, with various stylistic variations and interpretations. The TCOM cue design elements are an example, but there are numerous other examples.

Looking at your Orchid cue and then this cue is a perfect example. LINK Notice the design of the points in addition to the butt sleeve. I am pretty sure this is an overlay (decal) cue.

 

[vintagecollectibles831]

Certain design elements have been copied and repeated all over the place, with various stylistic variations and interpretations. The TCOM cue design elements are an example, but there are numerous other examples.

Looking at your Orchid cue and then this cue is a perfect example. LINK Notice the design of the points in addition to the butt sleeve. I am pretty sure this is an overlay (decal) cue.

Yeah, that is 100% an overlay cue. I hate it when people look at a nice import cue with real nice woods, and real inlays, in the same respect as a decal cue like this one, for example. To most people, if the brand name looks generic, then it is worthless garbage to them. And, the quality of the materials makes no difference to them.

The Orchid looks like a one of the higher quality Falcon cues, I believe. The inlays look very well done, to me, too.

 

[Chopdoc]

Yeah, that is 100% an overlay cue. I hate it when people look at a nice import cue with real nice woods, and real inlays, in the same respect as a decal cue like this one, for example. To most people, if the brand name looks generic, then it is worthless garbage to them. And, the quality of the materials makes no difference to them.

The Orchid looks like a one of the higher quality Falcon cues, I believe. The inlays look very well done, to me, too.

I don't let it bother me. What's funny is when they can't tell at all.

About 11 years ago I had a conversation with a guy about a cue he was trying to sell. He did have some experience and had some nice customs. The cue he was presenting for sale was a Taiwan made overlay cue but he said it was clearly a US made custom and the inlays were real. It was identical to some others that were available that had a couple different brand names on them. His conclusion was that his unidentified custom was copied.

It was a bit frustrating but I just had to walk away from the situation. Sometimes people will see what they want to see no matter what.