Cyril Israileff Obituary, Death – Former ASBA USA Founder Cyril Israileff passed away recently after a courageous battle with cancer. He was 65. Dominique Israileff, who co-founded the company with him in 1982, and their sons Joshua and Nicolai Israileff will continue the family legacy. Cyril’s early exposure to the industry in which he established his firm began in Geneva, where he was born when his father worked as an accountant for a Pearl dealer.
Cyril didn’t finish high school and became a DJ instead. According to Joshua, “He was a huge fan of Led Zeppelin and loved all kinds of rock music.” In the early 1980s, he and his wife Dominique emigrated to the United States, where they launched a wholesale business selling pearls out of their Los Angeles residence. They settled in San Francisco in 1982 and ran ASBA USA from there until 1992 when he purchased a 10,000-square-foot factory in Sarasota, Florida, where the company’s current headquarters may be found.
Nathan, Joshua, and Nicolai are the three sons that Cyril had with Dominique. He eventually settled in Thailand and set his shop there. Sadly, he passed away in the comfort of his own home in January of 2023. Joshua remembers many things about him, including his kindness. When Joshua was a kid, “He used to pay off people’s layaways during the holidays for Christmas gifts,” he said. And he would frequently foot the bill for a young couple’s celebratory dinner out on the town. He did them because he cared about others and because he understood that life was not always simple for everyone. Both Cyril’s clients and his friends remember him as a hard worker who never stopped assisting those in need.