Macedonian ruby to receive national certificate of origin and authenticity

The Government will roll out a certification and monitoring system that gives the "Macedonian ruby" a protected national identity, the Minister of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources, Sanja Bozhinovska, announced on 21 September 2026. The new framework includes a certificate of origin and authenticity and a QR code buyers can scan to check a gemstone’s provenance and technical data.

"The Macedonian ruby is part of our natural heritage, it has its origin, its specific properties and its own story. Our duty is to turn that natural value into a recognizable and protected Macedonian product backed by clear rules, verified quality and trust," Bozhinovska said.

Under the new rules, only stones and items that satisfy all legal and technical requirements will be allowed to use the name "Macedonian ruby." That will require confirmed material origin, full documentation, professional inspection and compliance with standards set out in the technical report, implementing regulation and the legal framework.

"We are no longer talking about an idea or an initiative, but are building the institutional mechanism for protection that will be applied in practice. It must be precisely determined what can be marked and sold as a Macedonian ruby," the minister added.

Domestic legal steps and next phase

The protection process began in 2025 when the Ministry, working with the Geological Survey, launched institutional and legal measures to treat the ruby as a geographical indication. A technical report identified origin, specific characteristics and other relevant properties of the stone. Based on that dossier, a formal application was submitted in May 2026 to the State Office for Industrial Property, which issued a decision on 17 June 2026 granting legal protection to the geographical name "Macedonian ruby."

Officials say the next stage combines domestic implementation with a push for international recognition. Authorities have initiated steps for North Macedonia to accede to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement, which would enable the geographical indication to be registered and protected internationally; the State Office has already forwarded that initiative to the Government and further ratification steps will follow once the Government approves the accession.

The plan foresees a public register of individuals and companies involved in extraction, processing, trade and sale of Macedonian ruby under the legal conditions, as well as traceability mechanisms from source through processing to labeling and market sale. The first QR code enabling authenticity and origin checks is expected to be ready by the end of October 2026.

Photo: press material from the event