The Avedis Zildjian Company is now known by the much simpler name Zildjian. Today, it's an American company, but it got its start in the Ottoman Empire almost four centuries ago. Zildjian was founded in Istanbul, Turkey, by an Armenian named Avedis Zildjian.
Zildjian was an alchemist by profession. As with all alchemists, he labored away in vain trying to turn base metals into gold. Along the way, though, he did manage to come up with something of value. Zildjian was responsible for creating an alloy of tin, copper, and silver. He found that the alloy was capable of making musical sounds without breaking.
And so his legacy was launched in 1623 with the beginnings of an industry. It became a family tradition that only the company's heirs knew the exact process behind the manufacture of Zildjian cymbals.
Later, in the 19th century, Zildjian manufactured cymbals as musical instruments for the Ottoman Empire. Then, around 1928, Avedis III, his brother Puzant, and their uncle opened for business in Quincy, MA. They made many innovations and actually competed with their counterpart Zildjian company in Turkey.
Any company that's been around for over 400 years must be doing something right.
