Pretty, Pretty
Decoration can enhance a cue stick's aesthetic beauty along with its monetary value. There is a definite psychological edge in using a beautiful cue that makes its owner feel proud. Many cue manufacturers now stock dozens of choices in design models.
Generally, more extravagant designs for a decorative cue stick drives the price high. Computer technology enables modern cues to have complex embossing, including paintings of animals, engravings, and monograms.
“Crowns”, now triangular-shaped inlays or painted emblems, originally showed where two pieces of wood fit together as one cue. A few players use the crowns as an aid during practice, to see if they twist the cue clockwise or counterclockwise during the stroke (they may play better or worse if they do twist, but that’s for another article).
Some cues have the same pattern decorated on both sides of the joint, making the two halves a "match". Other items that drive up the cost include multiple colors painted on each crown, making decorations by hand, and using semi-precious materials as inlays.
Inlays may be as thin as gold leaf. Run a fingertip or two along a cue's surface, before you buy it, to search for stray glue marks or any gaps between where inlays end and the wood begins.
Some decorative cue stick craftsmen date or sign their work. Stamped brand names and monograms typically go on the butt near the rubber bumper. Your personal monogram on a cue can help guard against theft, but may create a disadvantage if you want to sell it, unless a potential buyer happens to have the same initials!
