With few exceptions, the earliest makers of modernist jewelry, that resided in Greenwich Village, were essentially self taught. Rarely trained in the techniques of metal smithing, one had to think outside the box and learn by visiting the docks to watch the welders and forgers at the shipyards and learn casting techniques from the local dentists. Not having an easy access to pre-manufactured chain ,that we have today, as well as finding it a waist of decorative space, early modernists forged their own chain to hang pendants from. This concept of getting from point A to point B in a decorative manor lends itself to the chain designs you find on mid century modernists jewelry .