Poland turns "black gold" into handcrafted jewellery

Proceeding from its article, Euronews unveils that coal, a cornerstone of Poland's industrial past, is now being transformed into a modern symbol of the region's rich heritage. 

Upper Silesia, a region in southern Poland with deep-rooted connections to the coal industry, carries the legacy of miners’ hard work and sacrifice. Now, designers are turning this “black gold” into jewelry that reflects the local heritage and spirit.

Located in southern Poland, Upper Silesia is steeped in centuries of mining tradition. The area’s historic workers' neighborhoods, with their unique architecture and local motifs, serve as a reminder of a time when laborers and machines worked together, and when the region was a cornerstone of industrial Europe.

Over 300 years ago, people came from all over Poland and beyond to tap into this valuable resource, known as “black gold.”

Yet beneath its rugged industrial history lies a rich cultural heritage. Upper Silesia has its own dialect, which was once banned but still thrives today, along with the hard substance of coal, which is now being creatively transformed for modern use.

With the revival of folklore in Poland gaining momentum, coal from Upper Silesia is no longer just an industrial resource but has become a unique commodity. Mined since the 17th century, coal has played a key role not only in the Polish economy but also in Europe’s industrial development. Today, it is being crafted into jewelry, serving as a symbolic tribute to the region’s history and its enduring connection to the land.

In Katowice, the capital of Upper Silesia, a few workspaces are transforming coal into a different kind of precious commodity: intricately hand-crafted jewelry. One of these is I Coal You, a brand owned and operated by Katarzyna Depa, who has strong ties to the region.

“Jewellery from coal is first and foremost a symbol of mining hardships,” Depa tells Euronews Culture. “Coal can be not only a raw material to create heat, but also a rock that has such sentimental value that I had not heard of before at all.”

Her customers are not just tourists seeking unique souvenirs, but also locals who view the jewelry as a way to represent their cultural heritage. Depa notes that her clients include “the daughters of miners, the wives of miners, and women who moved out of Upper Silesia.”

“This jewellery has become a symbol of these ties to the region,” she adds.

Though the trend of making jewelry from coal is modern, it has deep historical roots in Upper Silesia. In fact, the first coal beads appeared in the 19th century, created by miners as gifts for their wives and girlfriends. As Depa explains, these beads were the simplest decorative form that could be made from coal, offering a quick yet meaningful gift.

When Katarzyna Depa founded the brand I Coal You, she was living in Nikiszowiec, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Katowice in Upper Silesia. Although today it's more common to encounter tourists than miners in this area, the spirit of the past still lingers in the tenement houses that remain. This is where miners, who came to Upper Silesia for work, once spent their lives.

“What fascinated me most about coal is this work ethic and respect,” says Depa, who deeply appreciates the strong connection this raw material has to the region's cultural history.

“I saw it myself, when I lived in Nikiszowiec, when I saw rescuers entering the mines, covered in dust,” Depa adds, saying that “this ethos, this respect for this raw material, which Upper Silesia fed itself and all of Poland with, is what it’s all about.” However, in spite of the respect Poles both within and outside of the region have carried for coal, Depa argues that it has been under-utilized as a tool for making art. 

“Jewellery is a beautiful medium and something that can bring us joy," she tells Euronews Culture, “when something is so commonplace, it’s easy to forget about it, but showcasing this coal in the form of jewellery also gives us the impression that, if not for coal, then nothing would be here.”  

Coal holds both a cultural and material heritage in Poland, as well as a physical one, deeply connected to the country's underground landscape. Each lump of coal is unique, making the coal itself a distinct entity. As Depa emphasizes, jewellery crafted from coal is designed to honor the work that is often overlooked and undervalued.

By Naila Huseynova