‘Rough Diamonds’ Ending Explained: Does Noah Manage to Save the Family Business?

Welcome to the Ending Explained for Rough Diamonds, a new Belgian TV series coming to Netflix this weekend. The series stars Kevin Janssens, Marie Vinck, Casper Knopf, Ini Massez, and Els Dottermans. The series tells the story of a family working in the Diamond District in Belgium. After one of its members dies, the prodigal son comes back after having left his orthodox community behind. What follows is a story of family, crime, betrayal, and business that, while not entirely original or surprising, is strong enough to warrant an entire watch.

The show’s plot is nothing we haven’t seen before, which means that you won’t probably find a lot of twists and turns in each episode. The story is quite straightforward, but it is entertaining thanks to the setting and the characters, who are far from most of the characters we see in every show on Netflix or anywhere else. Janssens brings a very inconsistent performance to the table, but Vinck, Massez, and Dottermans shine thanks to the strength of their characters and the way they play them. They are the best thing about the show.

The following paragraphs contain spoilers for Rough Diamonds. Read at your own risk.

Why Is Noah Coming Back To Belgium?

Rough Diamonds is the story of Noah, a man that has been running from his past for too long, and only a terrible tragedy can bring him back to the place he needs to be to face his demons. At the start of the series, we get introduced to Yanki, the youngest child of the Wolfson family. We see Yanki waking up and preparing to begin his day. However, there is something strange happening with Yanki. There is an ominous atmosphere, and you can definitely feel that something bad is about to happen when he leaves his watch before leaving home.

Yanki works at the Diamond District in Belgium, a collection of businesses that once focused entirely on trading diamonds. It is a very important and lucrative business, but lately, things have not been going so well, with tiny traders not being able to keep up with the competition of the big companies. Yanki works for the family company Wolfson Diamonds and arrives at the place where they have their office. He meets with the security guard and says hello there, as if it were any other day. But this is a special day, and Yanki has a plan.

Yanki attacks the security guard and manages to grab the guard’s gun. Several more guards arrive at the scene, and they are confused about what is about to happen. Yanki prays and then commits suicide with the gun. We jump in time a couple of days in the future, and we see a man named Noah and his son Tommy arriving. They are part of the family but don’t wear orthodox clothing. You see, Noah left the orthodox Jewish community he belonged to and created an entire life outside of it. He even has a son.

Everyone is surprised to see him at the funeral, and bit by bit, he starts piecing together the puzzle of what happened to Yanki. He had a gambling problem and decided to kill himself before bringing shame to his family. Noah takes care of the collectors violently, and it seems he is willing to stay for a while as their family recovers from Yanki’s loss. We also learn that Yanki’s wife, Gila, was, at some point, Noah’s fiancée, but he left before they could get married, and Yanki took his place. It is clear they still have feelings for each other.

Does Noah Manage To Save The Family Business?

In parallel to the story of Noah and his family, we also meet with a character named Jo Smets, a member of an investigation task force for the police, and she is dealing with organized crime. Jo is very much a perfect cop, she has principles, and she believes in justice, so she gets quite frustrated that her superiors don’t believe the same, and sometimes they even look to the other side when crimes happen in front of them. Jo is following the Albanian mafia and some stolen diamonds in this case. Her investigation will lead her to Noah and his family.

The reason is that before dying and to grow the business, Yanki and the company’s new CEO, Eli, started doing business with a clearly sketchy diamond provider. The diamonds that the Albanians introduced into the country were meant to reach Wolfson Diamonds, but they never arrived, so the company could never sell them. Because of it, the Wolfson company doesn’t have the money to pay their loan, and the company is at risk of disappearing. Noah reaches a deal with the Albanians, which allows him to pay the debt.

However, it seems everyone is disenchanted about keeping working in the business, but now they are in bed with a dangerous partner, and they must follow through. Noah tries to make a deal with Jo by selling the Albanians out, but Jo doesn’t take it. She receives a warning that his superiors don’t want a mess on the streets, and she is told to drop the case. She takes the deal from Noah in the end. Noah was also planning to leave Belgium and return to London with Gila and her kids, but now he is stuck in Belgium because of his dealing with the Albanians.

In the end, Gila decides to leave. She cannot leave anymore, waiting for Noah to do what he constantly promises. She leaves for New York for a new husband. Noah is distraught. The Albanians pay a visit to the traitor who sold them to the police and killed them. The business is safe, but at what cost? The entire Wolfson family seems destroyed. The series ends with Noah in the temple, seeing how his son Tommy is beginning to get attached to their religion. Noah fought hard not to be like his father and escape the orthodox life, but in the end, he also failed to do that.