Talk:Zildjian

I wonder if anybody knows the true story of what happened to a cousin, Karekin, who worked for the family business while it was in Quincy, Massachusetts in the 1940's, supposedly discovered "the secret" metallurgy unique to Zildjian products and started making cymbals on his own. The story has variations, but the one that circulated in news stories in the late 1940's was that he opened a factory in Mexico--thus the new brand "K Zildjian Cymbals" which began to appear in American music stores. One story said that a factory explosion resulted in his death while another said that he was found dead when one of his workers came in next morning. Both reports said he was decapitated. If it was anything other than accidental it was never made clear and there was no mention of a criminal investigation. If anyone can clear up this story it would be greatly appreciated. Of course there are K Zildjians in most music stores, darker in sound as well as color, which is a rich golden hue. Again, the story at the time was that Avedis collected up the existing inventory and raw materials, immediately understood Karekin's formula, and continued selling them. If memory serves, I seem to remember that the K-line had a Canadian address, just as Sabian Cymbals have today (New Brunswick.) e-mail: joeeholland@netscape.net