Processing the Macedonian Ruby for Years: The Most Valuable Gem of Macedonia

Today, the team at Kajak.mk will introduce you to the hero whose story is worth reading, reminding us that the path to success is thorny for each of us, but we must walk it to create the world we want to live in.

Today, we will introduce you to Dean Škartov, another local hero who adds to our list of people making small yet incredibly significant contributions to the development of tourism. Dean is known to the public for his promotion of the Macedonian ruby, his unique ruby works, his combinations with minerals, and his music career in several Macedonian bands.

We found Dean in his small shop located in the heart of the Macedonian capital, where he presents stones found beneath the earth's surface. The Deco shop, where he takes the first steps to promote, as he calls it, the Macedonian ruby, draws visitors who believe in its positive energy and healing power.

The story of how this workshop and shop came to be was fully shared with us by Dean, from his beginnings, his search for a better life, all the way to discovering the world he lives in today. Since we liked the story exactly as Dean told it, here at Kajak.mk we decided to share it with you in its entirety in narrative form. This might be one of the rare stories we share in this way, but definitely, it’s a story worth hearing as he tells it:

'I am Deko from Mičurin, and since elementary school, mentored by teacher Milka Jurokovska, we were involved in the music scene. First with harmonicas, which later, after discovering the album Made in Japan by Deep Purple, led us to guitars and organs. I played keyboards first in Kocka Led (78-82), in The Badmintons (83-86), and then we moved to Aleksandar Makedonski (86-88). I felt a pretty mature opus in the last band of that phase – Kleržo (until '91).

Just when we were about to step onto the JU scene, the country split in two, and we lost the opportunities to build a career outside of Macedonia. A year earlier, I graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture, but then my opportunity to start a career as a junior assistant at the Institute for Horticulture fell through.

I had relatives, so I faced the wider world in Trieste, Italy. It was a completely different atmosphere: a beach and a spa by the sea, sun-kissed beautiful girls on Vespas, shops, supermarkets, and a lively vibe. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find permanent work in the first few months, only temporary jobs, small repairs, or assisting the elderly and disabled.

In the meantime, I began filling out applications for emigration to distant destinations as an agronomist. In that context, I managed to get an appointment with Mr. Primo Rovis, the honorary consul of Honduras and all Latin American countries, the largest urban philanthropist, and a billionaire in the coffee business.

He welcomed me, listened to me, and said: 'If you’re hardworking, honest, and cultured, you will certainly find a job. It’s good not to go to South America because the situation there isn’t great for building a career. If you manage to find any work here, the war will pass, and you’ll be close enough to return home! I’ll try to help you…' he said, and warmly greeted me.

I was impressed by him, by his greatness, but especially by his simple humanity! Happy and full of energy, I set off to seek my fortune further.

After about ten days, I was called from his office, offered two or three days of engagement, which was extended several times, and eventually, I was hired to help create his private public collection of natural minerals, crystals, and fossils, starting from the very beginning.

It was in 1992. That’s how I became acquainted with the fascinating world of minerals and crystals, a world I had never experienced before, because no one had ever presented to us their beauty and nature in such a way.

I was completely overwhelmed by this world—a natural world of colors, shapes, and their countless combinations. Hundreds of millions of years of processes forming them in the crust of Mother Earth. On the other hand, what was especially inspiring were the people I met—scientists, professors, passionate collectors, and many individuals or groups with aspirations toward the world of spirituality. The first important exam at university was Botany, where the most interesting and complex lesson was about Photosynthesis. Professor Radmila Grupče explained it beautifully, and I was left with the impression that it was a magical process of synthesizing organic matter from inorganic components—creating Life!

In a similar way, I was faced with recommendations that crystals have an influence with their energy and vibrations on us humans, as well as the entire environment around them. This was new to me! I began reading and researching, but mostly, I listened to more experienced visitors about their experiences. I would share these thoughts with other visitors, and in this way, I too matured and advanced in my presentations. I even tried it on myself to see if and how it worked.

However, the basic idea when I left home was to gain experience, perhaps earn some money, and then return home to invest what I had gained here.

That step happened in the spring of 2001, when I began presenting the collection at trade fair events, testing the interest of our audience. The following year, in 2002, we opened the little shop near the Greek embassy, across from the sandwich shop 'Sedmica.'

At that stage, I wasn't a craftsman but a trader and promoter of the culture of recognizing natural crystals and stones, because the market was full of imitations and manipulations.

Right from the beginning, I heard rumors that there were rubies in Macedonia, but I considered that an exaggeration. However, when the same thing was said by experts, I became interested. We found samples, I took them for analysis wherever I traveled, and in the end, it turned out that Macedonia really did have natural rubies in its soil! Wow…!!! To see it—and not believe it! And we had never been taught about it, nor had it been mentioned as something special, just as the information about Lorandite from Alšar spread in the meantime.

So, my basic instinct told me: Since we have a ruby, we must learn how to process it. That’s how the search for a teacher who would teach us how to cut gemstones began, as this was an area not sufficiently exposed like other hobby crafts.

However, thanks to long-standing relationships with good and generous people, we gradually made progress. In 2006, at the handicrafts fair at the Hotel Arka, our ring with a Macedonian Ruby set in handmade silver won the first prize, which also marked the beginning of its promotion.

At first, customer interest was modest and sporadic, as at that time, there was not much trust in local jewelry brands. The aspirations were to own a piece of jewelry from Milan, Paris, or New York.

On the left is Princess Beatrice of Savoy, while Deko is presenting a crystal ball, and in the center is the great Primo Rovis.

Continue reading the story with one click HERE, and if you'd like to visit him as a group and learn much more from him, send a request with one click HERE.