MARANG: He may not be Marvel's Thanos, but a man in Kampung Rusila certainly loves to collect gemstones.
Othman Jusoh, 50, enjoys collecting gemstones worth thousands of ringgit and to date has over 1,000 in his collection made up of Colombian emerald, sapphire, ruby, amethyst and turquoise among others.
"I have spent more than RM100,000 to own various gemstones. The most expensive one in my collection is a Colombian emerald ring worth RM17,000.
"Those who know me are fully aware of my crazy hobby. I am willing to spend a lot of money on rings with various gemstones, with each ring costing thousands of ringgit.
"If others keep their money in the bank, I use the profit from my business to invest in unique gemstones," Othman, or Pak Man as he is more affectionately known as, said when met, here, today.
Othman informed that the prices of these gemstones will go up from time to time, depending on the interest of buyers.
Therefore, he reasoned that his hobby translates into a good investment.
"I once bought a 'batu arked' ring for RM120 at Pasar Besar Kedai Payang in 2007 and sold it at RM900 to another ring collector, also in Terengganu.
"The most expensive ring I sold was a Colombian emerald ring at RM25,000 in 2001. That gave me the motivation to pursue my hobby until today," he said.
However, with all the precious gemstones in his collection, his favourite and most beloved ring is his wedding ring, which cost RM120.
Elaborating further on his collection, Othman said he loves collecting unique and exclusive gemstones such as the 'mani gajah' stone, fossil stones, 'arked bukit' stone and the yellow iron (besi kuning) stone.
Some of the stones were bought in Bangkok and Myanmar while other more unique stones were obtained from fellow stone collectors in Terengganu, Othman said.
"Eventhough there are more than 1,000 in my collection, I have never felt satisfied and will continue to buy new gemstone rings that I find attractive," he said.
Apart from his gemstone ring collection, Othman is also capable at cutting the stones to be fitted into rings.
"Gemstone rings are part of my life, I will look at my collection at least three times a day. I also meet up with other stone collectors every Wednesday at Pasar Marang.." he said.
For his wife, Maheran Muda, 48, she is fully aware of her husband's interest since knowing him 30 years ago and does not mind Othman spending huge amounts of money on his hobby.
"As a wife, I am always supportive of my husband's hobby because it is not a meaningless activity, it can generate profit when he sells off the items. In fact, our two sons also share my husband's interest," Maheran said.