Like Father, Like Son: Remembering Gene and Ron Verri of Gem-Craft Costume Jewelry Fame

Over the past 30 years, I’ve spent many days in the Providence, R.I., area, getting to know some very interesting people in the costume jewelry industry. From designers to business owners and component suppliers, they’re often seen as rock stars in the eyes of avid jewelry collectors. Nevertheless, they’re usually quite humble and honored to be showered with such attention surrounding how they earn a living.

One of those people was Ron Verri. This kind and generous man who was entrenched in the costume jewelry trade died unexpectedly on Feb. 4. He was 78. In the days after his passing, I couldn’t help but reminisce about getting to know him. And, of course, those musings led to thoughts of his father—the renowned Gene Verri—and Gem-Craft, the Verri family business.

Getting to Know Ron Verri

In 2015, Costume Jewelry Collectors Int’l (CJCI) presented Ron Verri with the CJCI Achievement Award for his family’s ongoing contribution to the costume jewelry industry. In the days leading up to the award presentation, he invited me and CJCI co-founder Melinda Lewis to visit Gem-Craft, the business he led in Cranston, R.I. That field trip turned out to be so much more than we expected.

During that visit we got a tour of the complete operation. A couple of things that really impressed me were the vast archive of historical jewelry models and molds warehoused there and the workers creating amazing resin components like those I’d seen in finished pieces of jewelry. The supreme highlight of the visit, though, was sitting in Ron Verri’s office listening to stories about some of the interesting people he’d had the opportunity to work with during his tenure there.

Pair of Coro sterling silver angel fish “jelly belly” pins (originally part of a Duette), c. 1940s, $285 – $375. 

One of the stories he relayed to us involved a particular bird pin Gem-Craft created for Oscar de la Renta. It was the last design they worked on before the famed fashion designer’s death. De la Renta was very ill when they met, but he was insistent that real feathers be used to bring his vision to life. A man of his word, Ron made sure that brooch was created: a rhinestone-encrusted dove with a large white plume forming the tail. I’m fortunate to have one of these in my collection, thanks to my CJCI partner, who surprised me with it months later to commemorate our visit to Gem-Craft.

A few days after our Cloud Nine visit, we welcomed Ron Verri to our event for the award presentation. He brought along his beautiful wife and his lovely daughters, along with other Verri family members, including a cousin who was the son of his father’s identical twin brother. Talking with all of them that evening was a sheer delight. Ron accepted the award graciously and told us all about his dad, Coro’s head designer during costume jewelry’s golden era.

Remembering Gene Verri

Gene Verri’s name at birth was Guido Verrecchia. He later changed it to have a more American ring to it. His accomplishments are often acknowledged in the costume jewelry collecting community, but his own family celebrated his achievements as well. In fact, the Verri family established an endowed scholarship at his alma mater, Rhode Island School of Design, and put together a remembrance book for family and close friends when he passed away in 2012. Melinda and I were each gifted with a copy of the book when we visited Gem-Craft.

Looking through that brief record of Gene Verri’s career, I am reminded that he worked as the head designer for Coro from 1935-1950. He stepped into the role at the young age of 22. He was tasked with taking Coro out of the white metal and clear stone Art Deco era to create new, bolder looks for the business. Some of his most famous creations include Coro Duettes produced during the 1930s and 1940s; brooches consisting of two or three figural clips mounted on a frame that can be removed and worn separately. His Quivering Camelia Duette was, in fact, a million-dollar seller for the company.

Coro Quivering Camelia Duette, 1938, $375-$475.

The book also features historical documents and photos of Gene Verri with members of his staff and other colleagues at Coro. Among those individuals is Adolf Katz, a vice president for the company who submitted patents for Coro rather than a designer. They made frequent trips to Paris to glean ideas for new styles. One photo shows them suited elegantly in tuxes at dinner with their bejeweled wives on a Transatlantic voyage.

He left Coro in the mid-1960s to work at his own company, Gem-Craft, where he partnered with his identical twin, Alfeo Verrecchia, who was also a talented designer. When Gene Verri passed away at the age of 101, he was still designing beautiful jewelry.

More About Gem-Craft

Gem-Craft was founded in 1945 while Gene Verri was still working for Coro. At the time, the company was called Craftsman, and Alfeo ran the business while Gene provided funding. Over time, the name of the company was changed to Gem-Craft.

Craft fish brooch, 1980s, $50-$75.

In 1973, Ron Verri shifted his focus as a postgraduate engineering student and went to work for his dad’s company. He learned the business alongside his father and eventually took over operations. He’s credited with keeping the business alive during the 1990s when many costume jewelry businesses closed as manufacturing in Asia became increasingly commonplace.

As mentioned previously, Oscar de la Renta and Kenneth Jay Lane were among the notable designers working with Gem-Craft. One of Gene Verri’s last renderings as a designer was a feather-shaped collar necklace produced for Kenneth Jay Lane. Jewelry marketed by Gem-Craft is also made under the brand name Craft.

Craft starfish necklace, 1990s, $65-$85.

Like his father, Ron Verri worked for Gem-Craft until his death. His daughters, who learned the business from these two dedicated men, are the third generation to carry on the Verri tradition of jewelry design and manufacturing in Rhode Island.

Pamela Wiggins Siegel has been buying, selling, and collecting costume jewelry for more than 30 years. She is the author of “Warman’s Costume Jewelry” and the co-founder of Costume Jewelry Collectors International, an organization dedicated to hosting events and providing educational resources for collectors. Visit her online at www.chicantiques.com and www.cjci.co. 

Photos courtesy: Jay Siegel

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