so from wich year is your zildjian?

[Duncan]

found this on a website from a dutch drum collecter/seller check it out by yourself. http://www.hidehitters.com

http://home.hetnet.nl/%7Ewinnie-/shop/zildjian/8splash.jpg

Very early A.Zildjian 8 inch paperthin splash, note the "J" in ZILDJIAN, not a nice round bottom as in the later stamps. This is one of the first stamps Zildjian used, probably 1930s. Hard to see is the "genuine turkish cymbals, made in usa" but it's there, it's a complete logo.

http://home.hetnet.nl/%7Ewinnie-/shop/zildjian/353.jpg]
This is a 12 1/4 inch A. Zildjian paper-thin cymbal and came with a Leedy 1937 trapset.

http://home.hetnet.nl/%7Ewinnie-/shop/zildjian/456gr.jpg

Paper-Thin A. Zildjian 12 3/4 inch cymbal 1937

So:
Pre-war cymbals have the straighter Pre-Round-Bottom "J".
After WW2 A. Zildjian used the Round Bottom "J".

http://home.hetnet.nl/%7Ewinnie-/shop/zildjian/zildjianlogo21.jpg

Older post-war stamps pressed harder on the outside, the Z and Co are deeper, like on this 13 inch hihat cymbal. This is a smaller logo. Zildjian used these in the late '40 and '50s.

http://home.hetnet.nl/%7Ewinnie-/shop/zildjian/openlogo.jpg

Here we have the hollow-block-lettering Zildjian logo as on a '50s 21 inch med-thin ride.

[philee]

All those cymbals that say "made in USA" are post-'s. Sometimes around those years, Zildjian moved to the US, but they were in Turkey before that. So yeah...?

[Mr. Canuck]

ive got some old Zildjians from the Canadian factory(which is now sabian) ive heard they are from late 70ish period . anyone with any more info on them?

[erwinner]

i think that's right age-wise Canuck. I've heard they have zildjian written in outline only, with no fill. I think I have a 20" ride like that. I love it.
I think zildjian had a few decades of overlap in the move from constantinople/istanbul to the us. the K's were made there, i believe until the 60's.