Belgrade's Last Craft Perfumery Defies Time with Charming Scents

Nenad Jovanov (right) and his son Nemanja pose for a picture with perfume bottles in their 67-year-old perfume shop in Belgrade on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

From a cobblestoned street in downtown Belgrade, the Sava perfumery has survived three generations without ceasing in its mission to keep the city's citizens smelling flowery and fresh.

While the city has gone through many changes, the store remains a snapshot in time, with skills passed down through generations. The work is a labor of love for the Jovanovs, despite that it doesn't ensure a decent living, according to AFP.

"We have remained because of tradition, love, affection and willingness to do a job which at certain times doesn't earn you enough money to subsist," the shop's jovial owner Nenad Jovanov, 71, told AFP as he mixed a custom eau de toilette in the shop's laboratory-like back room.

The perfumery dates back to the World War One, but opened under its current name a decade later, when communist authorities in then-Yugoslavia reversed a decision to ban private business, allowing the family to take back ownership.

In the 1950s and 60s, such perfumeries enjoyed a "golden age" in Belgrade, said Jovanov. But as Yugoslavia started opening up to imports, mass-produced fragrances poured in, pushing local mixers out of business. When Serbia and other ex-Yugoslav republics broke apart in a series of wars, dealt another blow to the industry. "One by one they started shutting down. And in the end, we were the only ones to remain," said Nenad.

When customers enter the tiny store, Nenad or his son Nemanja, who also works in the film industry, help them navigate the wooden shelves of label-less glass bottles.

"We don't have brand names. We don't have brand bottles. We don't have brand boxes. We simplified our packaging and our interior as much as we could so we can allow customers the experience of discovering what they like," explained Nemanja.

After enquiring about preferences -- floral, citrus, sweet or musky -- they use an old-fashioned pump to test different fragrances. Shoppers are then encouraged to take a walk and return later, as the scent evolves over time after its first contact with the skin. Most of their ingredients come from France.

The store stays afloat thanks to a loyal clientele, plus a growing interest from tourists interested in what Nemanja calls its "living museum". At a time when Covid-19 has taken away many people's sense of smell, an appreciation of its power has also deepened. "These smells can transport us to another place, another time," said Nenad.