THE STORY OF NOA FINE JEWELLERY DOES NOT START WITH FOUNDER AND OWNER, FRIEDA KAPLAN GROSS, BUT WITH HER GRANDFATHER IN EUROPE. FRIEDA’S GRANDFATHER, ARON GROSS, EMIGRATED FROM HIS NATIVE POLAND TO VENEZUELA. WHAT STARTED AS A HUMBLE JEWELLERY SHOP IN CARACAS QUICKLY BECAME THREE BOUTIQUES, WHILE ARON HIMSELF BECAME THE BIGGEST OMEGA WATCH SUPPLIER IN THE COUNTRY. AFTER HAVING ONE DAUGHTER, HE AND HIS FAMILY RETURNED TO EUROPE, THIS TIME SETTLING IN MUNICH. HE WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE STEINMETZ FAMILY IN ISRAEL, ONE OF THE WORLD’S LEADING DIAMOND SUPPLIERS, AND WAS SOON SUPPLYING JEWELLERY ALL OVER GERMANY. ALONGSIDE AN ITALIAN FAMILY, HE HELPED TO BUILD A WORKSHOP IN ITALY WHERE THE JEWELLERY COULD BE PRODUCED, DEVELOPING A LIFELONG BOND WITH THE OWNERS THAT HAS CONTINUED WITH THE SUBSEQUENT GENERATIONS. IT WAS AT THIS POINT THAT FRIEDA’S MOTHER MET HER FUTURE HUSBAND, ISAAC KAPLAN, A MEDICAL STUDENT WHOM ARON GROSS DECIDED TO TAKE UNDER HIS WING AND TEACH THE INNER WORKINGS OF THE JEWELLERY BUSINESS AS A WHOLE. WITH THE YEARS THAT FOLLOWED, THE COMPANY GREW AND EVENTUALLY FRIEDA WAS BORN. TO FRIEDA, IT SEEMED LIKE PRE-DETERMINED FATE THAT SHE WOULD ONE DAY WORK WITHIN THE INDUSTRY. GROWING UP SURROUNDED BY JEWELLERY ON A DAILY BASIS, ALONGSIDE THE CONSTANT BUSINESS TALK OF HER FATHER AND GRANDFATHER, IT WAS NO SURPRISE WHEN SHE ENROLLED IN LONDON COLLEGE OF FASHION TO BEGIN HER CREATIVE CAREER WHICH WAS FOLLOWED BY A GEMMOLOGY DEGREE AT GIA IN ISRAEL, CREDITING HER AS A SPECIALISED DIAMOND GRADER. OF COURSE, ARON GROSS’ CONNECTIONS CERTAINLY HELPED WITH HER REVISION – HE WOULD ARRANGE FOR STEINMETZ IN TEL AVIV TO SHOW HER SOME OF THE WORLD’S BIGGEST DIAMONDS. UPON GRADUATION, FRIEDA RETURNED TO LONDON AND SOON ESTABLISHED NOA FINE JEWELLERY. FRIEDA AND HER GRANDFATHER VISITED HIS ORIGINAL WORKSHOP IN ITALY, WHICH HAS NOW BECOME ITALY’S BIGGEST PRIVATELY-OWNED JEWELLERY MANUFACTURER, WHERE SHE WOULD WORK WITH THE OWNER’S GRANDSON TO PRODUCE HER FIRST COLLECTION, WHILST THE TWO GRANDFATHERS WOULD REMINISCE. THE FIRST LINE, BILLED AS MODERN CLASSICS, INCORPORATED WHITE GOLD AND ROSE GOLD WITH SIMPLISTIC DESIGN. WORD OF MOUTH MEANT THE PIECES QUICKLY SOLD, ALLOWING FRIEDA TO SLOWLY BUT SURELY INTRODUCE BOLDER PIECES INTO THE COLLECTION, LESS CONCERNED WITH SALES AND MORE WITH CREATING BEAUTIFUL AND UNUSUAL PIECES THAT A WOMAN WOULD CHERISH. FRIEDA’S WISH IS THAT THAT OWNING A PIECE OF NOA FINE JEWELLERY WILL ONE DAY BECOME A NECESSITY FOR A WOMAN, LIKE THE UBIQUITOUS LITTLE BLACK DRESS. FRIEDA WORKS EXTENSIVELY WITH INDIVIDUAL CUSTOMERS TO CREATE BESPOKE PIECES SUCH AS PENDANTS AND ENGAGEMENT RINGS, WHILE ALSO CONTINUING TO PRODUCE BREATHTAKING AND INTRICATE ITEMS WHICH UNDERLINE HER FEARLESS APPROACH TO EXPERIMENTATION AND HER DISTINCTIVE STYLE IN FASHION AND DESIGN. HER INSPIRATION SPRINGS FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES, PARTICULARLY FLOWERS AND ANIMALS, WITH HER FINISHED CREATIONS BOUND TO MAKE HER A HOUSEHOLD NAME FOR GENERATIONS TO COME, WHI