Britt’s Pick: Studio IO’s Custom Brown Quartz Ring

By Brittany Siminitz | June 17, 2025

I’ve been struggling to understand why I’ve become obsessed with the color brown of late, apart from the obvious—with Pantone’s Color of the Year, brown was bound to crop up everywhere. And now the hunger for brown gemstones is real, from opaque tiger’s eye to sensational, lively quartz.

When something—such as a color in fashion—gets beaten into you, the outcome usually is either you love it or you can’t stand the sight of it (and often, one of those feelings turns into the other). With brown jewels, I’m still in the can’t-get-enough stage, where this love feels new and exciting.

But why does this particular season of brown seem different from those in the past? I think I know. For years we’ve treated brown as a neutral, an accent. It’s one of the colors that we’d stock once fall came along and we sadly shed our vibrant summer hues for more muted looks. And that’s fine! We love a good earth tone, don’t we?

This year, though, we’re not satisfied with brown being just “fine.” We’re looking for it to be downright electric—as showcased in this custom ring from Studio IO.

“This one-of-a-kind ring was created for a client’s 10-year anniversary,” Studio IO owner Jenifer Thai tells JCK via email. “She personally selected the 9.23 ct. star rutile quartz from Rare Earth Mining, drawn to how unique and radiant it was. She said it looked like it held its own universe inside.

“The golden rutile inclusions naturally form a starburst, which inspired me to frame it in platinum and surround it with a full gradient of natural yellow diamonds—from soft champagne to vivid gold—evoking solar energy and divine protection,” the designer explains.

Thanks to Thai’s eye for design, the center quartz really does appear as if it’s alive—those inclusions are practically bursting with energy, and the gradient of diamonds plays off the golden needles inside the gem. While this is a custom creation, it’s a testament to the work Studio IO, formerly IO Collective, can do.

Thai sums it up nicely: “It’s a deeply symbolic piece that embodies IO’s ethos of storytelling through rare materials and intentional design.”

Top: Custom ring in platinum with 9.23 ct. star rutile quartz and 2.04 cts. t.w. yellow diamonds; Studio IO