Pool Ball Collecting.

[The Wolverine]

Hello, Wolverine.

I haven’t forgotten your request for a top ten ranking, sir.

To be frank, dear chap, I have failed. I just found it too difficult to winnow down to so few sets. I tried, but every time found it impossible to leave out certain examples.

Understood.

 

[The Wolverine]

Motorla Barcode set: Chapter 2

I must admit that, initially , I was satisfied to just acquire the barcode set, assuming it was a simple salute to the ingenuity of digital engineering. At the nudging of Benelli and K2, I sensibly buckled down to do a bit more research.

Studying the balls, it became obvious that the barcodes on each ball were different, and as per K2, I contacted the creator. He recalled that each code (re)represented the numeral on the ball, but also remembered some problems with the double digit balls, and was pretty sure that the cue ball probably said “cue”, but was not exactly sure what the final solutions were.

I tried scanning the balls and having them read through online services, (to no avail). Toying with downloading an application for help, there was a eureka moment when searching turned up the word “FONT. I quickly downloaded images of the alpha numeric barcode font, and a key or legend of the barcode structure. With these, it was just a matter of taking photos of each ball and code, then deciphering. Below you can see some of the results!

So, when racking up this set, there will be 16 unique digital “triggers”, or links, ready to roll around the table. Each barcode could be programed to set off a different function, or set of functions: Scan the cue ball, and it could cause an image of the cueball to be projected on a screen and turn on the pool table light, and there are still 15 more balls to go! If you are lucky, the last ball in the presentation will turn up the lights at an open bar,

Cheers!

There might even be another chapter to this tale. We shall see.

I love this thread.

 

[The Wolverine]

Has any luxury car brand ever released pool ball sets? Ferrari, Porsche, Rolls Royce etc?

 

[deep]

Has any luxury car brand ever released pool ball sets? Ferrari, Porsche, Rolls Royce etc?

Not a car brand but Louis Vuitton launched a set of balls in collaboration with Aramith.

 

[Rubik's Cube]

Don’t hold me to this, Mr D, because my eyesight is none too good these days, but I think that is the counterfeit Louis Vuitton balls in your photograph, dear chap. When they first appeared some unscrupulous folks were advertising the sets for $10k and no doubt stung many people. I was able to alert the respective collecting communities (billiard balls and LV) and the prices have now crashed down to the hundreds.

The original set by Aramith was housed in a luxury LV trunk (see below) and sold for an eye-watering $57,000 or thereabouts. I tried real hard to obtain a genuine set (without the trunk) for the Billiard Ball Museum, corresponding with Aramith and the CEO of Louis Vuitton in Paris but, alas, was ultimately unsuccessful.

Best wishes.

RC.