Another Armenian Cymbal Company?

[Arvestaked]

We all know about Zildjian and Sabian... the Zildjian family -- of which the founder of the Sabian company is also a part -- has been making Turkish cymbals for a few hundred years. There are other cymbal makers out there of course, most of which I've avoided because they weren't Armenian (though I have a wuhan and I'd love a Paiste flat ride). And I especially avoided Istanbul Cymbals as they're actually made in Turkey. However, I just looked further into Istanbul Cymbals. Check out their about section:

 

http://www.istanbulcymbals.com/

 

I think they're also Armenians! They have a Turkified last name but the first names... Agop? Garbis? Sarkis?

 

Excellent news! Though I wish they weren't in Turkey.

[ervonitor]

The Zildjian family is a centuries old Armenian artisan family. Hundreds of years before they perfected the art of cymbal making. Because of that they were the only authorised family who could sell to the Ottoman Palace. The secret was passed from father to the eldest son. During the 1910's the person who should learn the secret went to the United States so his cousin cotinued the business, thoug it was not big or fashionable. During the 1930's jazz era Mr. Zildjian in America decided to restart the business there and became the most famous cymbal manufacturer. He also made an agreement with his second cousins living in Turkey so that he could exclusively use the "Zildjian" name as a brandname. Part of the Zildjian family still lives in Istanbul, Turkey and make cymbals but use the "Istanbul" name as a brandname. It can be noticed that both names are written with the same style of letters. I got this information from the official Zildjian site on the web.