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A large sailing chart of the West Indies<br />
adorns a wall in his shop. The Goldsmith<br />
shop is small, cozy, quaint and filled with<br />
many tools of the artisan/jewelry trade.<br />
There’s a multi-colored assortment of pliers<br />
in a rack he built himself. There’s also a<br />
book shelf filled with various books on jewelry.<br />
“I’m doing this because I love this,” he<br />
says. “It’s like a hobby. The customers are<br />
nice. They like my work. I’ve also done art<br />
shows in the past, but not anymore.”<br />
At that point, a young woman walks into<br />
his shop with two necklaces that need soldering.<br />
She also leaves him a watch that<br />
needs a battery replaced. In addition to creative<br />
jewelry, Tom also does watch repair,<br />
band shortening, as well as gold and silver<br />
soldering. The atmosphere in The Goldspecial<br />
feature ║ The Goldsmith Shop<br />
Combining Artistry with Jewelry<br />
The Goldsmith Shop<br />
By Martin LenkowskY<br />
photos by melissa korman<br />
{It comes as no surprise that Tom Fritch, a master goldsmith and<br />
craftsman, came to own a downtown (Pineapple Grove) Delray<br />
Beach jewelry store; he was simply fulfilling a lifetime dream.<br />
“I knew I wanted to move to Florida and be a jeweler,” he says.<br />
Some tools of the trade<br />
64 <strong>April</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | www.<strong>Atlantic</strong><strong>Ave</strong><strong>Magazine</strong>.com<br />
tom fritch At his workbench<br />
Tom owns The Goldsmith Shop, 140 NE<br />
2nd <strong>Ave</strong>., Suite 12, in My Salon Suites. He<br />
combines art and jewelry under the same<br />
roof. “I’m a creative jeweler. I’m a bench<br />
jeweler,” he says describing his artisan approach<br />
to jewelry making. “I’ve always liked<br />
the tools. I’m more of an artist. I’ve done<br />
sculpturing. I even sold a piece.”<br />
He takes out a scrapbook photo of the<br />
rather unique sculpture he sold. It’s an allbrass<br />
replica of the iconic Wright’s brother’s<br />
aircraft. He sold it to a friend who owned a<br />
bar/restaurant near the Allentown, PA airport.<br />
“So he wanted to keep it with an airplane<br />
theme.” Tom says. “I used the money<br />
to pay for a trip to San Diego.”<br />
Tom, a Pennsylvania native, attended Lehigh<br />
University and studied (electrical) engineering.<br />
He worked for two major corporations<br />
in the engineering field. However, he<br />
had a dream, and knew it was time to make<br />
his move. He did it with a truly unique touch<br />
back in 1976. “I got on my boat and sailed<br />
from New Jersey to Florida,” he says, adding<br />
he also did a considerable amount of sailing<br />
in the Caribbean and the Bahamas as well.
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