Cymbal Stamp Timelines | K Zildjian – Istanbul Timeline

Cymbal Stamp TimelinesImages and Dates of the World's Vintage Cymbals

K Zildjian Istanbul Timeline

Old Stamp I (1930s-1945)

The city of Turkey officially changed its name from Constantinople toIstanbul in 1930. It was not until many years later that the K Zildjian Cymbalfactory updated its cymbal stamps. The first stamp that included the wordIstanbul used a tall narrow font, and eliminated the word trademark whichhad appeared on earlier stamps under the word Constantinople.

This stamp was the last one to use the old fashioned way to abbreviate thephrase and company as & Cie. Later stamps all use & Co.-

Another example of Stamp I.

Old Stamp IIa (1945-1949)

Cymbal Stamp Timelines | K Zildjian Istanbul Timeline http://robscott.net/cymbals/k-istanbul/

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The phrase K Zildjian was shrunk compared to the preceding stamp.

Also now the font for the word Istanbul is as tall as the star and moon. StampI used a smaller font which was shorter than the star and moon.

Old Stamp IIb (1949-1950)

This stamp is almost identical to IIa except that it has a big K. The wordZildjian is top-aligned with the K, as though it were a superscript.

It should also be mentioned that these are also often referred to as Stamp IIIbecause of the big K. In fact, that might even be more common than calling itIIb. Still, those that refer to this as a III do not provide the nuanced IIIa, IIIb, IIIcthat can be found frequently used to distinguish these cymbals and date them.-

Here is another example. It is interesting the case of each of these examples tomake note of the shape of the word in in the phrase Made in Turkey becausethe word in becomes taller in later stamps.


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Old Stamp IIIa (1950-53)

The Moon becomes thinner for in this stamp, and the word Zildjian is bottom-aligned with the letter K.

The word in from Made in Turkey also appeared smaller on the precedingstamps.

Old Stamp IIIb (1953-1956)

The font for the bottom word Zildjian grew taller in this stamp. This is the onlydifference Ive ever been able to see and it makes this stamp difficult todistinguish.

More photos and a soundfile after the jump.


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Some of the cymbals from this era have an amazing tinny smoky sound. This isa 17 cymbal that weighed 1,165 grams. Listen to the soundfile.

Another cymbal from this era. The stamp photo (above) was taken from thiscymbal. Notice the large bell, which was common during this era.

Another image of a stamp from this era.


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Old Stamp IIIc (1956-57)

This stamp is distinguished by the position of the star further away from theinside of the moon. The phrase Made in Turkey appears more horizontal onthis stamp, that is: less hooked around the moon. This is the only stamp withthis arabic script and the spread out Made in Turkey.

Another example of this stamp.


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Old Stamp IVa (1957-58)

The Arabic in this stamp has been stylized with a different font. The Arabic partof Stamps IV are often illegible there are more examples after the jump.-The difference between IVa and IVb has to do with the star and crescent moon.

Stamps from this era are notoriously difficult to read. Even this one isexceptionally legible.


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Old Stamp IVb (1959)

The star and moon look different in this stamp, and Made in Turkey wrapsaround it.-

This 16 cymbal has a lathing pattern sometimes seen on cymbals from this era,where the tonal grooves are clustered closer together, then spread apart inconcentric circles. It makes the cymbal look like the rings of Saturn.

Underside of the above 16 cymbal.

This ink stamp was found on an old stamp cymbal of this era.

The star and moon look different in this stamp, and Made in Turkey wrapsaround it.


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This image, from a polished cymbal, provides the most detailed image of theArabic, while the star above the crescent is missing. Still, the tight wrapping ofthe words Made in Turkey identify it as IVb.

Intermediate Stamp (1959-1966)

The intermediate stamp replaces the former block of Arabic text with some sortof gibberish symbols. It is not Arabic, unless it is the Comic Sans font forArabic(?) I seriously dont know what the symbols mean. If anyone knows, pleaseshare.-The English component of this stamp always seems to have some stampingproblem, so it is often illegible. The distinguishing feature is the combination ofthe small-sized star in the crescent with the non-standard symbols where onewould expect the Arabic.-

Another shot of the intermediate stamp.


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Heres another intermediate stamp that more clearly displays almost all of itselements.

Heres an image of a beautiful 22 ride from this era. This was an extremely thincymbal, around 2250 grams. The 22 rides from this era are wonderful.

This is an 18 crash/ride from the same era. More of a medium weight cymbalat 1750 grams.

New Stamp (1967-77)The so-called new stamp looks very similar to the intermediate stamp, with themain difference being the size and location of the star above the crescent moon.Also, the stamp seemed to imprint the English more thoroughly than with theintermediate stamp, but there is often double stamping, as the cymbalsmiths


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pressed the stamp twice by hand.-

Signature from the bell of a new stamp K.

Ink stamp found on a 20 K from the 1970s.


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Cymbal Stamp Timelines | K Zildjian – Istanbul Timeline

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