Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century Italy: Cressi

[David Wilson]

We'll finish today with a couple of real-life examples of a Cressi Stella Uno snorkel mask.

The following is a snapshot of an exhibit from the online Turin Underwater Museum mask collection:

Italian: "Cressi. Maschera in gomma della Cressi Sub risalente ai primi anni ‘60. Il modello fu chiamato: Stella. Il boccaglio originale è andato perso e sostituito con uno semplice tubo in plastica."
English: "Cressi. Cressi Sub rubber mask dating back to the early 1960s. Model name: Stella. The original snorkel was lost and replaced with a simple plastic tube."

And here is an item from an eBay auction:

So much for the Stella Uno B snorkel-mask (1959-1974): a service life of fifteen years. I shall return at the weekend to review the shorter-lived Stellina snorkel-mask. In the meantime, let's "stay alert" (the British government's latest Coronavirus lockdown instruction) and "be careful out there" (Hill Street Blues Sergeant Phil Esterhaus's immortal words).

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks, as always, for the likes, Sam and АлександрД.

So today's Cressi snorkel-mask is the "Stellina". "Stella", the name of the snorkel-mask we reviewed several days ago, is Italian for "star", while "Stellina" with its diminutive ending "-ina" means "starlet" or "little star". Here's how Cressi staged the Stellina's début in 1969:

Italian: "STELLINA con stiroglass L. 1250; con cristallo infrangibile L. 1.360."
Rough translation: "STELLINA with styroglass lens L 1,250; with shatterproof lens L 1,360."

A typical Cressi single-snorkel mask, therefore. As with the Stella, one breathing tube emerges from the left side of the mask and terminates in a U-bend with a hinge-operated shut-off valve to close the air inlet when submerged. There is a stainless steel band with a top screw to reinforce the seal between the rim of the mask body and the edge of the oval lens, which comes in a choice of styroglass and shatterproof glass. A split strap provides a cradle at the back of the head, increasing comfort and security by distributing pressure over a wider area. No information forthcoming as yet about which end-user the manufacturer had in mind or whether the mask could be deployed for underwater swimming as well as surface observation.

 

[David Wilson]

The Stellina survived when the late 1960s turned into the early 1970s, but not for very long. Here is the snorkel-mask in 1973:

Italian: "STELLINA. Maschera semplice con aeratore incorporato munito di valvola « Gamma ». Per osservazione superficiale o piccole immersioni".
Official English translation: "STELLINA. Simple mask with incorporated snorkel provided with the « Gamma » valve. For surface observations or small immersions".
My retranslation: "STELLINA. Simple mask with built-in snorkel featuring “Gamma” valve. For surface observation or small-scale dives".

And in 1974:

Italian: "STELLINA. Maschera semplice con aeratore incorporato munito di valvola « Gamma ». Per osservazione superficiale o piccole immersioni".
Official English translation: "STELLINA. Simple mask with incorporated snorkel provided with the « Gamma » valve. For surface observations or small immersions".
My retranslation: "STELLINA. Simple mask with built-in snorkel featuring “Gamma” valve. For surface observation or small-scale dives".

So, finally, we have a statement of the mask's operational constraints, namely that it is confined to surface observation and short, shallow dives only. No deep diving or protracted underwater swimming sessions. Just when the line is about to be discontinued.

 

[David Wilson]

We'll complete today's offerings with some auction pictures of the Stellina:

Although this mask on Italian eBay has lost its valved snorkel, a fate shared with many surviving snorkel-masks, its stainless-steel band and top-screw are still remarkably intact after four or so intervening decades. The cork jammed into the snorkel socket illustrates how easily such snorkel-masks can be converted to regular masks after the breathing tube is removed and/or lost. No guarantee of watertightness, of course, because leakproofness depends on the plug and the socket having matching circumferences.

This concludes my review of the Cressi Stellina snorkel-mask. There are still four models to go, although I haven't yet been able to pin down their exact chronology. Perhaps others can help when the time comes? Which will be mid-week. In the meantime, stay alert and stay safe! That light at the end of the Coronavirus tunnel is getting marginally larger as we creep towards it.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, Sam and АлександрД., and to the invisible members who have boosted the "Views" score for this thread to 1900!

Now for the four remaining Cressi snorkel-masks rhat I know about. First up the Blumarine Gigante:

You can visit the online Turin Underwater Museum at http://www.museosubacqueotorinese.c...foto=blumarine&nomemacchina=Cressi 4&nrtumb=1 and see the exhibit for yourself. Here is the original Italian of the caption accompanied by my faltering steps at rendering it into English:
Italian: "Cressi 4. Maschera della Cressi Gran Facciale modello Blumarine Gigante. Tubo del boccaglio protetto da un tappo di chiusura per impedire all’acqua di penetrare all’interno. Adatta per lo snorkeling."
English: "Cressi 4. Cressi full-face mask, Blumarine Gigante model. Snorkel tube protected by a shut-off cap to keep water out. Suitable for snorkelling."

This is the only image I have seen of the Cressi Blumarine Gigante. I have never seen this model in any Cressi catalogue, but I don't have access to a complete run of Cressi catalogues where I can check my facts. The "Gigante" (giant) suggests a mask with a large lens, perhaps a full-face mask. As for chronology, I would hazard a guess that it belongs in the late 1970s, but it's simply that, a guess.

 

[David Wilson]

Next up is the Cressi Mentone, which also appears in the mask collection on the Turin Underwater Museum site:

The exhibit can be accessed at https://www.museosubacqueotorinese....to=gruppo cressi&nomemacchina=Cressi&nrtumb=4. Italian caprion and my translation below:
Italian: "Cressi. Maschera in gomma della Cressi Sub risalente ai primi anni ‘60. Il modello fu chiamato: Mentone. Il boccaglio originale è andato perso e sostituito con uno semplice tubo in plastica."
English: "Cressi. Cressi Sub rubber mask dating back to the early 1960s. Model name: Mentone. The original snorkel has been lost and replaced with a simple plastic tube."

Note the dates. Personally, I would have placed this model in the same time bracket as the Blumarine because of their similarities in appearance. I have been unable to locate the Mentone in any Cressi catalogue. Anyway, it resembles what is called in Italian vintage diving equipment circles a "granfacciale", a "big-faced" mask which may or may not provide full-face coverage. And the name? "Mentone" is Italian for Menton, a French town on the Côte d'Azur between Monaco and Ventimiglia at the Italian border:

Menton's cityscape...

 

[David Wilson]

I did manage to trace another image of the Cressi Mentone somewhere:

The snorkel-mask's features include a stainless-steel band surrounding the large circular lens and topped with a screw to reinforce the interface between the lens rim and the mask body. A single snorkel emerges from a socket top centre, secured with a stainless-steel clamp that may be part of the metal lens-retaining band.

I'll leave it there for today. We'll review the last two Cressi snorkel-masks, the Onda Boy and the Onda Gigante, at the weekend. Stay tuned and stay safe.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks, as always, for the "likes", Sam and АлександрД, and to the anonymous members who have raised the "Views" score for this thread to almost 2000!

I promised a review of two more Cressi snorkel-masks, both named "Onda". We'll begin with the "Onda Boy".

You can visit the online Turin Underwater Museum at https://www.museosubacqueotorinese....&nomefoto=onda&nomemacchina=Cressi 3&nrtumb=1 and see the exhibit for yourself. Here is the original Italian of the caption accompanied by my faltering steps at translating it into English:
Italian: "Cressi 3. La maschera Gran Facciale Onda Boy senza naso della Cressi (anni '70), con tappo rosso sul boccaglio per impedire all'acqua di entrare, poteva essere usata solo per attività di snorkeling."
English: "Cressi 3. 1970s Cressi Onda Boy full-face mask without a nosepiece. Snorkel topped with red cap to keep water out. May only be used for snorkelling."

This is the only image I have seen of the Cressi Onda Boy. I have never come across this model in any Cressi catalogue, but I don't have access to a complete run of Cressi catalogues where I can verify my facts. "Onda" is Italian for "wave", by the way. As for chronology, I would agree with the Turin Underwater Museum owner that this is a 1970s artefact, probably from late in that decade.

What makes this mask an interesting object to study is its combination of the old and the new. The "Gamma" hinged float valve at the end of the U-bend remains atop the snorkel, but the barrel is now white while the plastic shut-off is a bright shade of red. The large lens is edged with a yellow ring. Previously, the colour scheme would have been a uniform Mediterranean blue, ostensibly to serve as camouflage when hunting fish.

 

[David Wilson]

The second snorkel-mask of the day, also the last Cressi snorkel-mask to be reviewed in this thread, is the Onda Gigante. Not a museum piece this time but an auction item:

You may have noted the absence of a manufacturer's name, although the product name Onda Gigante is clearly embossed on the top of the mask in the third image down. The Italian provenance of the item is confirmed twice by the message "Made in Italy" on the top of the mask and on the strap. No mention of "Cressi", however, and I can only speculate who made the mask from the familiar Cressi Italic font used in the "Made in Italy" message on the mask itself. "Gigante" suggests full-face coverage and the mask certainly comes with a large round lens.

That's my lot for today. Back midweek with a new section for this thread, dedicated to the Cressi range of fins. Stay tuned and stay safe in the meantime.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, Sam and АлександрД. And to those who have increased "views" for this thread to over 2000.

Onwards to Cressi fins and it may come as a surprising fact that the only pair appearing in Cressi's first post-war (1947) catalogue were actually manufactured elsewhere:

Superga is probably best known nowadays for manufacturing canvas shoes:

Superga was founded in 1911 in Turin, Italy, when Walter Martiny started manufacturing rubber-soled footwear marked with the Superga logo. In the early 1940s, the now prominent company diversified production not only making gas masks for the war effort, but also manufacturing rudimentary swimming fins for Italy's combat swimmers, based on French naval officer Louis de Corlieu's 1930s propulseurs de natation (swimming propellers) patent:

As you can see, this military fin was an uncomfortable fixed-heel affair. Superga later brought out an asymmetrical version with each fin marked either "destro" (right) or "sinistro" (left) to inform the user which one belonged on which foot. This arrangement meant that the longest edge of the blade went on the outside.

Here is an image of a surviving real-life model:

The asymmetrical Superga fin remained in production after the cessation of hostilities, appearing in three fittings, piccolo (small), media (medium) and grande (large), in Cressi's 1947 catalogue. In 1951, Superga itself merged with Italian rubber manufacturer Pirelli, whose own masks, snorkels and fins we shall be reviewing at a later date.