Life & Style | General
Leisure pursuits: Priceless hobbies
Some passions can be worth a huge fortune as BurJuman Collector's Exhibition reveals
- By Faisal MasudiStaff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 July 22, 2010
- Image Credit: Karen Dias, XPRESS
- Suhail Mohammad Al Zarouni with his miniature cars – he has a world-record 9,000 – at BurJuman
Dubai: Hobbies can be priceless and an exhibition currently on at BurJuman shows just how.
From rare coins to custom-made cars, a Collector's Exhibition at BurJuman displays many wonderful samples of people's hobbies that have turned out to be gold mines over a period of time.
The mall has been transformed into a virtual museum until Saturday (July 24) as part of the Dubai Summer Surprises festival.
Passion for miniatures
Emirati businessman Suhail Mohammad Al Zarouni has a passion for miniature cars and part of his collection is on display at the mall. Al Zarouni owns over 9,000 tiny automobiles and holds at least two world records for the highest number of model cars.
Al Zarouni declined to reveal the value of his collection but said that previous estimates had put the value at $5 million (Dh18.36 million) - when he had ‘only' 4,500 models.
A Mercedes coupé converted into a mock Dubai Taxi and a Jaguar themed on a Mumbai cab are big eye- catchers.
Not content with cars, Al Zarouni also has a passion for coffee mugs. And here too he plans to beat the record for the highest number of coffee mugs in the UAE by amassing a staggering 10,000 mugs. "It could be more; I've already got over 4,000," he said.
The line-up includes special editions of Starbucks "city mugs" for Dubai and the UAE, as well as a sneak peek into a Ramadan version.
Besides these, Al Zarouni also has such a vast collection of currency, pens, caps, matchboxes and super cars that he is thinking of turning one of his homes into a private museum.
Eclectic collection
"I collect almost everything, but it has to be interesting to me. I travel a lot and look on the internet. I've personal contacts and also go to auctions sometimes. My family and friends help me find stuff as well."
One of the most interesting displays at the exhibition is a model of the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa, and its surrounding towers made up of 750,000 phone cards, by Manoj Khira.
Another show-stopper features sheets of uncut Iraqi banknotes printed right before Saddam Hussain was overthrown. A note says the printing plates for the 100,000-dinar notes went ‘missing' in the chaos and few people - if anyone - can safely say which ones are genuine.
Rare currency
Indian tycoon Ram Tolani has on display his hard-to-find currency collection. The insurance guru's collections include coins of Dh5 and one-fils denominations. But he is also a multi-trillionaire - in Zimbabwean dollars! His possessions include 100-trillion banknotes from the inflation-hit African country, not to mention money used by German Nazis and the British Indian empire.
These collections are not just about leisure or investment for the collectors.
As Tolani wrote in a message, his quest for unique items brings some sort of peace of mind, and he also attributes his recovery from a serious medical condition to this pursuit.
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