In the early 1940s, a new movement in jewelry design was beginning in the United States. American artist craftsmen chose to express their frustration with society’s conventions through the most intimate art form: jewelry. These were the formative years for modernist jewelry which was derived in large part from the modernism of the fine arts. Modernist jewelry more closely identified itself as an art form than a craft form. Jewelers thought of their pieces as fine art to wear and their shops were small galleries or museums.  This new jewelry appealed to the young "liberal, intellectual fringe" of middle-class American collectors who championed modern art. Explore Mid-Century & Modern jewelry here.