UUSI Gilded Decks 24/7/2014 @ 0900 Central Time

[chach]

UUSI Is releasing their group of gilded decks tomorrow, anybody going to try and pick any up? I gotta admit, if I'm quick enough I will snag the one Blue Blood, but I doubt I'd be so luck.

Details from UUSI's site:

GILDED DECK COLLECTION AVAILABLE THURSDAY, JULY 24 AT 9AM CENTRAL TIME.

Each deck in Uusi's Gilded Collection is hand-gilded at our studio to create a finish that looks as beautiful as it is playable. Gilded with 23.5KT gold leaf or sterling silver, the deck will come in its original tuck box with a unique, numbered gold seal.

1 original blue blood deck / sterling silver
25 bohemia red limited edition 23.5KT gold decks
25 bohemia blue edition 23.5KT gold decks
25 royal optik black limited edition 23.5KT gold decks
25 royal optik red edition 23.5KT gold decks
25 blueblood redux limited edition sterling silver decks
50 pagan light 23.5KT gold decks / only 17 available

[Eoghann]

A surprising lack of prices ranges worries me. More than likely way over my budget. Still a stunning addition for any collector lucky enough to nab one.

[Sher]

A surprising lack of prices ranges worries me. More than likely way over my budget. Still a stunning addition for any collector lucky enough to nab one.

It's $185 for the Blue Blood, $125 for the rest. I wish they made them available for purchase gradually, instead of all at once.

[montecarlojoe]

Here's hoping I win the lottery tonight!

[mmiikk]

no pagan dark available?

[volantangel]

no pagan dark available?

I believe Uusi said those were sold out and will not be available. But damn that one single blue blood, imagine... nah im out of cash

[Maddest Hammer]

Oddly, the original blue blood is only about $100 more than I paid for the one I bought a few months ago (non-gilded, of course). That said, they're all too pricey for me (

[Mike Ratledge]

I'll go for one Light Pagan so I have a pair to put in the swivel Redwood box, but it is pricey, but we'll worth it. How many decks from a series of 50 do you own?

[Eoghann]

Someone needs to start making clear tucks for these. What's heartbreaking is that at that price and rarity, only a handful will ever see the light of day out of the tuck. Maybe one or two will be played with. No way of appreciating their beauty aside from a sticker or some other indicator that they're in fact gilded. I assume the tuck stays the same as the regular ones?


Who's up for a rich snobs poker night? I'm bringing the Venexiana Golds and the spirits.

[badpete69]

this is starting to be way too expensive... It's hard to admit it but I may pass on these.....arrrgggggh that was hard to say. By the way speaking of Venexiana gold have they shipped? I think I saw a note that they had been sent a few days ago right?

[Mike Ratledge]

Some V Gold deck were shipped from Berlin yesterday, the rest will follow today & tomorrow, all done by Friday, I expect.

[Cbkimble]

I haven't collected any UUSI decks so far and as much as I'd love to have several of these decks, I'm going to have to pass.

[ddorn]

I just picked up a Blue Blood Redux regular, and it is stunningly beautiful. I've yet to open up my Pagan, or Bohemia decks. Although I'd love to have these guilded decks, I really can't justify $125 for a deck of cards.

[Eoghann]

this is starting to be way too expensive... It's hard to admit it but I may pass on these.....arrrgggggh that was hard to say.

I swear I just heard your heart shatter.

Throwing my ratty hat into the ring as well. This too rich for my blood.

[SuicideKing]

Someone needs to start making clear tucks for these. What's heartbreaking is that at that price and rarity, only a handful will ever see the light of day out of the tuck. Maybe one or two will be played with. No way of appreciating their beauty aside from a sticker or some other indicator that they're in fact gilded. I assume the tuck stays the same as the regular ones?


Who's up for a rich snobs poker night? I'm bringing the Venexiana Golds and the spirits.

That's my problem. I can't open one of these decks. But I can't keep it in the tuck. So maybe I need to pass...

[Widdee]

I shot my wad, no pun intended, on two of the yellow guilded Hotcakes. These are super nice though.

[mmiikk]

ive only just noticed that some are going to be stirling silver. i think thats a good match for the redux deck. however my budget hurting at mo. im already up for a heap on kickstarter this month.

[chess]

I tried getting the original blue blood but I got beaten to it. I'm passing on the others

[UtterFool]

I tried getting the original blue blood but I got beaten to it. I'm passing on the others

I had it in my cart ... but by the time I checked out, it was sold.
Hind sight being 20/20 I think I dodged a bullet on that one.

I still have 8 of the originals unopened 2 opened and one out of cellophane signed. $185 to complete the set wasn't worth it.

[Mike Ratledge]

I tried getting the original blue blood but I got beaten to it. I'm passing on the others

I had it in my cart ... but by the time I checked out, it was sold.
Hind sight being 20/20 I think I dodged a bullet on that one.

I still have 8 of the originals unopened 2 opened and one out of cellophane signed. $185 to complete the set wasn't worth it.

Well, same here - I had it in my cart and paid for it immediately using PayPal without even missing a beat, but when I went back to the site it said it was "Sold Out". I suppose you can argue either way, but the fact is that the single silvered Blueblood is a one-of-a-kind item, and nobody else has it (I don't know who got there first, but I suspect that if Pierre wanted to do so, he certainly has the fibre Internet connection and could easily beat everyone else to the checkout door). In any case, it's pretty much a "name your price" item - if you decided to sell it. I would have to hold onto it for a while, at least. I did grab one of the BB Redux silvered decks, thinking that it is likely the second most popular item in the list. Noting that all but 17 of 100 of those Pagan decks had already sold, I'll be surprised if either one is still available before the end of the day.

I already have one of each of the Pagan decks, just waiting for my dual swivel redwood case to arrive so I can put them both on display. It's a shame to take them out of their tuck case since you have to break the seal, but frankly I don't think you really have any choice unless you want to end up with one solid piece of gold welded together.

I know I already said elsewhere, but you basically have to take them and (VERY!) carefully fan them out, and 'un-gunk' or un-stick them from each other, taking great care not to bend or otherwise "break the back" of the individual cards like you do when you shuffle them. Placing them back in their case is of course a minimum of care for these items, but I'd like to be able to display them inside the case but without the tucks on them, so I bought a few of those plastic (acrylic?) cases from MPC that you use for antique and vintage decks that come sans OB or with one so poorly held together that you're better off putting it inside one of those as opposed to keeping it in the original box - such as it might be.

[Mike Ratledge]

OK, 'fess up: who got it? Pierre?

[shadowkat]

This is a guilded deck that was in my price range! Got it at my local comic book shop.

[Aussie888]

No way of appreciating their beauty aside from a sticker or some other indicator that they're in fact gilded.

No way of knowing that they are actually gilded unless the box is opened.

[Strag]

I was going to order one of each of the 5 remaining until it got to the shipping part.

$100 for international shipping of 5 decks? That is a complete ripoff, no thanks!

[uusikissa]

Hey Everyone,

Just saw this post! Does anyone have a gilding question they'd like answered? Pete is in the shop (always!), but I'm working in the office today and would be happy to answer any questions you have on our gilded decks or the gilding process.

From quickly scanning this thread I see you are all flinching at the price, very sorry about that. Hand-gilding with 23.5KT gold leaf (which is basically pure gold) is not an inexpensive or fast process to do and we priced them as honestly and afford-ably as we could. Almost all the gilded decks you see on the market today have been "gilded" with foil – a plastic, gold imitation process. It is fast, cheap, a machine can do it and it totally makes sense if you are going to pump out thousands of "gilded" decks. But if you want to create a handful of high quality, gilded decks using a 400+ year-old gilding technique that is purely an artistic process and basically creates a one-of-a-kind object out of your deck, you are looking at spending good money on pure gold sheets and hours of handwork and artisan skill in preparing the deck and gilding it.

We put all this effort into these decks because we love the history and traditions of the playing card genre and gilded decks have a long and interesting place in that history. Because Peter has the skill and workshop to make these decks, we were able to offer them to you. They are definitely an investment for us and for anyone who picks one up. The Uusi Gilded Decks are part of the story of our series – exploring this genre's rich artistic diversity and traditions – and in a bigger picture, part of the story of this "golden" moment in playing card design and the community that supports it.

@STAG – Geesh! I totally forgot to link the gilded decks to their own international weight-based shipping calculator. It would now be $35 for shipping (we have to use a premium shipping method for the gilded decks – the flat rate is too much of a "ship and pray" stress we didn't want to put you through). Anyhoo, should you feel like strolling over to Uusi at some point in the near future to pick up a gilded deck the shipping will hopefully not poke your eye out this time

[Sher]

Hi Linnea,

If the deck isn't broken apart, will the cards be eventually stuck together, or will it still be easy to break them apart later on? In other words... does it matter when you break them apart, whether it be next week or a couple of months from now? I know you have to wait at least two weeks for the glue to settle, but after then, does it matter when you break apart the deck? Thanks.

[uusikissa]

Hi Sher!

No, the deck will not stick together more the longer you wait on breaking it. Once the sizing (which is really just linseed oil) has set with the gold leaf the gilding process is essentially finished. Since traditional gilding is more an art form than a machined process, the drying time for the sizing can be anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months depending on the climate and conditions the deck is kept in (moist climates have longer drying times). But once the sizing has set, a hand gilded deck will break the same way in 3 months as it will in 10 years or more.

All gilded decks "stick" when you break them as the gilding has created a solid metal surface on the deck's edge. But after you thumb the cards apart, the deck is completely playable and has zero stickiness. The great thing about using this traditional method of gilding and solid gold leaf is that it allows the cards to remain flexible. I know one or two of you have already broken your decks and played with them and have mentioned that they work great. No one ever gilded a deck to make it more playable – its definitely an artistic, decorative process – but if done right you should be able to enjoy it in any casual game of cards you play. Of course, with constant, repeated use eventually the deck's gilding will begin to wear, but really all decks do if used regularly. And even when they wear, some of the very old gilded decks we have look super cool with that distressed gold edge.

Here is a longer explanation that Peter recently sent to a backer:

The gold (or silver) leaf is applied when the sizing is at a drying point – when it has just an ever so slight tack; almost dry but not quite. Once the gold (or silver) leaf is applied it deprives the sizing of oxygen and dramatically slows down the final drying/curing rate, thus making it important to wait a minimum of two to three weeks before handling or breaking the deck. Waiting longer is better as it ensures the sizing has completely cured. There are old historical English records of gilding drying times taking up to three months (of course there are many factors involved in drying time). It's not an exact science, really the entire process is about having a feel for it – hand gilding is an art form, not a production process.

One of the other things floating around out there is the "flaking off" of the gilding - this isn't going to happen with a traditionally gilded deck. To the best of our knowledge, all the other gilded decks that have been available in recent years have either been some sort of imitation gold or most likely foil stamped with gold foil or silver (not real gold or silver). I believe we are the first people to traditionally hand gild playing card decks in a long, long time. Artificial gold was patented and used on card decks some time in the 1920's and has been widely used in machines as well as hand gilding ever since. Its cheap and easy and makes sense if you are doing large production numbers.

We use gold leaf that has the highest amount of gold in it. The layer of gold leaf on our decks is incredibly thin, so of course it will wear the more you play with the deck - but this has always been the case. Gilded decks are somewhat of a novelty, definitely a collectors item and all collectors are different with how they interact with their collection. Some like to be able to use their collectables (by the way Linnea plays with one of the gilded decks here at the studio and after she broke it in, she says it plays great) and some just display them on a shelf, never to be used. Whatever your plans, gilding a deck is not done to make it more playable, it is again, essentially an artistic and highly decorative process, but if done right, they can be enjoyable to play with in casual card games and will actually look really cool as they wear.

[Sher]

Thanks for that detailed explanation, Linnea. It's really made me appreciate the traditional gilding process more.

[HebrewHammer]

@uusikissa How does the value of the ink, and the process being used to apply the hot yellow to the Hotcakes decks compare to the decks being gilded with real gold? Thanks!