A pair of business-savvy sisters have made £25,000 by turning spare parts from old iPhones into gold jewellery pieces.
Karen and Alice Chave were horrified when they first learned that only 22% of all technology is recycled.
The duo, aged 24 and 26, who live in London, set out to tackle the problem with a very Gen Z solution.
Having worked in the recycling sector, the sisters pooled £10,000 of their savings to set up a unique business venture – working with engineers to extract gold from old tech.
“We’d always go into each other’s wardrobes and borrow different things – including jewellery,” Karen, the co-founder of Incador – which translates to ‘civilisation of gold’ – told Absolutely Business.
“Alice and I wanted to create something special and sculptural, like an art piece.
“We sensed the usual start-up scepticism from people around us but understood that it can seem impossible to build a business from scratch without prior experience.
“Our parents have been supportive from the very beginning, as long as we’re dedicated and willing to work hard.
“Alice and I would just remind ourselves that every specialist was once a novice and today, with the internet and AI, learning has never been easier.
“Building our business has brought us closer together.
“The way we work is very complementary to our different skills.
“Alice has always been someone I can be open and honest with, and you need that in a business partner.”
The sister are now flogging jewellery pieces with prices starting at £1,200 per item.
They use artisanal small-scale mining [ASM] to source their materials, as well as electronic waste and believe this method minimises land disturbance, and consumes significantly less energy than the heavy machinery used in large scale mining.
Alice said: “Karen and I knew we wanted to create beautiful jewellery but didn’t want to contribute to the problems in the industry, so we explored alternative ways to source gold in ways that are traceable and ethical.
“ASM is one way to source gold but many electronics – like iPhones and laptops – have small amounts of gold and precious metals in them.
“With electronic waste on the rise, we saw this as an opportunity to be part of the solution by working with partners to recover 24k gold from old and forgotten technology.”
The sisters work with two engineers, as well as an ASM partner in Peru.
Born Swiss and Vietnamese, the duo were mostly raised in Malaysia, and incorporate their background in their designs.
Karen, who finished university just before the sisters launched, said: “We spent a lot of time outdoors as kids – we still do – and you can see that in the designs we’ve created.
“We collaborate with an ASM partner who has established a community development fund, applying a small premium that is reinvested into local education, sanitation and healthcare.”
Incador was launched last summer and the brand now offers 20 pieces available to order alongside bespoke services.
READ MORE: ‘I turned £500 into £1.15m with my pick and mix sweets business – Ant and Dec love my candy’
