The New Generation is a WDC newsletter series that tells the stories of up-and-coming diamond industry leaders, examining the role that they see for themselves, in the business and the diamond itself. Each article in the series is delivered in the person’s own voice.
The eighth article in the series features Alon Netzer, Vice President and Creative Director at Israel-headquartered Eurostone.
A GAME OF TWO HALVES
The author, Alon Netzer, during his days as a professional athlete, during which he played for soccer clubs in Romania, Lithuania, Ireland and Israel.
MARCH 20, 2025
My life changed forever on October 20, 2019, in the Stadionul Municipal in Bucharest, Romania. It was some 40 minutes into the game between the home team, Academia Clinceni, and the visiting Vitorul Constanța. A mid-field player, I went up for a high ball over the head of an opponent, and when I came down I felt something in my knee snap. It happened as quickly as that.
Lying on the field I knew immediately that something was terribly wrong. My coaches thought so as well. I was substituted on the field and bundled off to the hospital, where I was taken into the operating room. When I woke up after what I later discovered had been complex surgery, I couldn’t feel my leg. It seemed that the body I had trained to push to the limit had suddenly given out.
The doctors did not provide me with much encouragement. When I asked whether I would be able to play soccer like I once had, they responded that I might never be able to run again.
It was crushing news for a 27-year-old. I had invested every minute of the day into becoming the best professional athlete I was able to – eating right, sleeping enough, and training twice daily in the gym and on the field, alongside a mental coach, who helped strengthen my powers of resilience and concentration. I followed a very stringent and intense daily routine for many years, usually under pressure and always striving to perform at my peak in every single game.
In that moment of realization I turned to my wife, Maya. She was more accepting, reassuring me that whatever happens is meant to happen, even if we don’t understand why. All we need to do is believe in a better future.
Consciously walking away from my soccer career was the most difficult thing I had done until that point in my life, but it pushed me take control over my fate.
I enrolled in a university MBA program in management. At the same time, I decided to explore a new path. It was one that had been forged earlier by my father, in the diamond industry.
Alon Netzer, the former footballer who today is Eurostone’s Vice President and Creative Director.
The road I once traveled
I was born and raised in the town of Givatayim, Israel, in a home where family bonds were always considered the highest value. And like many male professional athletes, my father, Pini, was a prominent figure.
From the age of 6 until I was 26, every Saturday and every match, he was there – pushing me along, encouraging my progress and being my most enthusiastic supporter. He taught me that the journey is more important than the result, and that we need hold dear the values of loyalty, dedication and integrity. These all became my guiding principles, on the soccer field and then later in the diamond industry.
I was always drawn to soccer from a very young age, wandering the neighbourhoods in search of games, and playing non-stop. I learned that success was not just about winning, it was also about the path you traveled, the small details and the lessons that you learn along the way. Don’t get me wrong. My goal definitely was always to win, but I understood that losing is only a failure if you don’t learn from it.
Football was my greatest passion. Starting out in the youth leagues, when I turned professional I played on teams in Israel’s top leagues, and also pursued an international career, playing for clubs in Romania, Lithuania and Ireland.
But that all ended on October 20, 2019.
Starting again, from the beginning
On my first day of joining Eurostone, the family diamond business, I’ll admit that I was unsure whether I was doing the right thing. I didn’t know if I wanted it or if even I needed it. But I also felt that I didn’t have the luxury of time.
While it was a family business, it had been established by my father who had entered the industry on his own. I have two brothers, but both had chosen to make their careers elsewhere, in medicine and music.
My father was supportive, as he always had been, but he also made it clear: “You’re no different from anyone else. You’ll start from the beginning.”
He sent me to a side room in the office, where I began learning the basics of the diamond world. I learned how to hold tweezers, grade diamonds by colour, measure small stones, and understand the intricacies of shapes, sizes and weights.
The author and his father Pini, about whom he wrote: “From the age of 6 until I was 26, every Saturday and every match, he was there – pushing me along, encouraging my progress and being my most enthusiastic supporter. He taught me that the journey is more important than the result, and that we need hold dear the values of loyalty, dedication and integrity.”
But that was only the start. I spent the next six months sitting alongside our factory workers, learning the process of polishing diamonds, and understanding every detail of the craftsmanship that goes into producing the highest quality fancy-shaped goods.
And I wasn’t just observing. I became involved in every step of the production process, connecting with our workers and learning how to meet our customers’ needs in the best possible way.
I worked hard to build connections, not only with people, but also with machines and digital systems. Business, I believe, is about integrating all these relationships, and not just about making transactions.
After four years of intensive training – where I mastered everything from production to management – I was promoted to a position where I could make decisions.
I started challenging the status quo, implementing new ideas, introducing advanced technologies, and improving our value propositions for our customers.
Trust through transparency
Of course, it wasn’t always easy. Working alongside my father in the business has been demanding, requiring a good deal of energy and patience. I always knew that it would either lead to success or failure. Fortunately, it’s been a success.
I began to focus on driving Eurostone to become a global leader in both technology and personalized service. For me, digitization is not just about using new technology; it’s about connecting natural diamonds with customers around the world.
My vision is to create a system where all clients can trace their diamond’s journey from the mine through the manufacturing process, to the final piece of jewellery or watch.
It’s about complete transparency, for it is through that we can enhance our deep connection with our customers. Most importantly, we want them to trust us. Trust is a core value that goes above all else, even price.
I envision a future where every diamond tells a story – not just of luxury, but of environmental responsibility, transparency, and uncompromising quality.
The road that never ends
I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my story because it reminds me that there’s no single path in life.
The author on the factory floor.
If you had asked me the day before my injury as to what I would be doing now, my answer surely would have been different to the way it worked out. But the core values by which I once lived as football player and today as a diamantaire are essentially the same.
We can never truly know what will happen, no matter how much we plan. The greatest wisdom lies in understanding that there are no shortcuts. And, even when the path seems blocked and a dream is cut short, the road never ends.
My journey from being a professional football player, playing for top-league teams around the world, suffering a severe injury that led to early retirement, and then integrating myself into the family diamond business, has been one of growth and transformation.
Now, as I lead the next generation in the business, my desire is to build a company that connects tradition, belief, collaboration, innovation, clarity, and progress in every aspect of the diamond industry, especially in the types of service we provide to all our customers.
My journey is a story of determination, learning, and adapting to a changing world. But more than anything, it is a tale of love for family, the values my father instilled in me, and trust in our process.
I believe in people. For me, building connections and relationships happens through shared character rather than intellect.
Throughout my life, I’ve worked tirelessly to improve, stay humble, and always to move forward.
And, like my father did with me, I will do the same for the next generation. I will teach my children to stand on their own two feet and live independently. I will not give them fish, but rather teach them to use fishing rods, so that they may feed themselves.