VERRI an Italian-American jewelry designer from Cranston, R.I. was awarded a special Italian Ministry of Culture Life Achievement Award.

Gene's parents came to America from Italy in 1904.His father was a skilled jeweler and found plenty of work in the jewelry business in Providence.The twins were born in 1911."My parents were not too happy here and they moved back to Italy," said Verri, as if that was not the least bit unusual.

In fact, it was.The Verrecchia family in Italy was relatively well off and they were welcomed back in 1916.But then the Verrecchia family lost their mother and their father became a prisoner of war, Still, the family made the best of a bad situation until the Verrecchia boys decided to come back to America.

Gene was 14 in 1925 and had a passion for art.He enrolled at the Rhode Island School of Design on a scholarship.He worked in nearby jewelry factories between classes and then accepted a scholarship by the New England Jewelers Board of Trade.The dilemma /necessity of helping his family was solved when he garnered a lucrative part time job.

In 1933, Coro hired him as a designer, and within three months, he was the head designer for the company, a position he held for over 30 years.

Verri's vintage designs called anti-deco, and retro-rococo, used natural subjects like birds, fish and flowers but with a distinctly modern, slightly surreal sensibility.

Given that Verri was head designer for Coro, and Coro produced 50 percent of all costume jewelry in America, his designs were well known and racked up enormous sales.

Gene and his twin brother Alfeo, founded Gem Craft soon after he got out of the Military in WWII, and being two of the best designers in the business, retained Coro as a client, and added all the major companies to their roster.

Gene's son, Ronald, a Brown graduate with a degree in engineering, began working with his father in 1978 and now is in charge of production and other business details. Verri - a dapper man who dresses and looks as if he should be spending his time loafing around an exclusive gentlemen's club - looks perfectly content to still come to work daily and works in a small corner of the shop, surrounded by the clutter of his craft.