Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century Italy: Cressi

[David Wilson]

The Pinocchio original appeared thus in 1968:

While the first three illustrations repeat the 1966 offerings of three sizes (Small, Medium, Large), two lens types (ordinary and shatterproof glass) and the option of a metal band or a valve, the rubber "volume reducer" on the right is a new concept enabling internal capacity to be lowered even further.

And here is the Pinocchio in 1976:

And still available today, but sadly only in black silicone:

 

[David Wilson]

And here is the Soviet Union's response to the original Cress Pinocchio design, the Buratino, made in the "Mosrezina" factory in Moscow in the early 1970s:. They do say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Buratino

This mask was given the name "Buratino" (Буратино), which is the main character in a book written by Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy (not Leo Tolstoy, author of "War and Peace"), who "had read Pinocchio as a child, but, having lost the book, (...) started re-imagining it many years later in an attempt to come up with a series of bedside stories for his own children." Read more at Buratino - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. You can see the mask auction page for yourself at Маска для подводного плавания СССР. The Pinocchio-like character is clearly visible as a moulding on the top of the mask skirt in the picture below:

The mask was reviewed in a Russian diving book as follows:

Original Russian: Пригодны также маски «Буратино» того же завода со стеклом, имеющим форму сдвоенных очков, и специальным приливом для носа. Однако при очень небольшом подмасочном пространстве маловата и их обзорность. Существенный их конструктивный недостаток еще и в том, что стекло, имея глубокую выемку для носа, часто лопается пополам при самом легком случайном нажиме. С этой маской необходимо обращаться осторожно. Кроме того, форма стекла не позволяет охватить его хомутом. Проволочная стяжка в узком месте стекла не гарантирует герметичность, особенно при перепадах давления.

Rough translation: Yet another suitable mask is the ‘Buratino’ [Pinocchio] from the same plant. It has a dual-pointed shape lens and a dedicated nose pocket. With its very low inner volume, however, the mask is a bit short on size and visibility too. One of the significant design flaws arises from the deep recess in the lens for the nose, which frequently and very easily results in the lens breaking in semi face when pushed accidentally. Handle this mask with care. Furthermore, the lens configuration does not meet up with the skirt. The wire tie at the narrowest point of the lens does not guarantee that the mask will be leakproof, especially when there are differences in pressure.

Not an uncritical review. I wonder how much of the above is applicable to the Cressi Pinocchio as well? Like the latter, the Morezina Buratino came in other colours:
1. Black, shown here with an Estonian-made "Tegur" drysuit and a pair of Mosrezina Number 7 Nerpa fins:

2. Red

3. Blue

We'll move on to other models in Cressi's Pinocchio mask family new time.

 

[David Wilson]

OK - the plan for today is to take a closer look at other models in the Cressi Pinocchio "family" of masks. We'll start with the Pinocchio Deluxe, which made its début in 1969:

No product description to accompany the image back then, but potential purchasers may have noticed the absence of a wire running perpendicularly up the front of the mask and designed to keep the lens permanently engaged in the groove within the rubber rim. Instead, the Deluxe came instead with a specially shaped, presumably more expensive stainless-steel band.

More information about this model was forthcoming in 1973:

So the Deluxe was intended to be bigger and to offer a broader field of vision, targeting users of breathing apparatus. The manufacturing materials were designed for durability and to project a more professional look.

Here is the mask in 1974:

And here it is in 1976:

As a linguist, I'm always interested in the translator's efforts to locate "le mot juste", French for "the right term", to render any elusive concept into idiomatic English. There's little worse than "translationese", awkward English words and phrases used to convey the gist of the original foreign language but without the latter's natural simplicity and elegance in doing so. While "Viene consigliata per l'uso con autorespiratori" is rendered in 1973 and 1974 by Cressi's official Italian-to-English translator as "Advised for use with aqualungs", the same Italian sentence becomes "Advised for use with breathing apparatus" in 1976. If the translators back then had gained access to the translators' tools available right now, such as Linguee at viene consigliata per l'uso - English translation – Linguee, they might have considered substituting "Recommended for use with breathing apparatus."

 

[David Wilson]

The Cressi Pinocchio Deluxe had a variant that went by the name "Pinocchio Deluxe Wide Vision". The product was introduced in 1973:

So the advantages of the Wide Vision variant of the Pinocchio Deluxe were low internal volume, a decrease in the suction effect and easier compensation when underwater swimming without breathing apparatus. A tempered-glass lens was an additional safety feature.

Here is the mask in 1974:

And in 1976:

 

[АлександрД]

The Pinocchio original appeared thus in 1968:

V.I.R.
Great! Finally I know what was used by Jean Reno in The Big Blue in his mask!

Always I think, it was self-made filler, but it was mass produced! Thank you!
And my suspiction, that it was volume filler to reduce air ammount under the mask now confirmed!

 

[David Wilson]

Another Cressi Pinocchio "family member" was the "Ottica", or optical, model, appearing first in or around 1964:

We have to wait almost a decade for a product description. Here's one from 1973:

And once again, Cressi's translators have made mistakes. So far as I know, there is no such adjective as "assosimetric". "Assosymmetric" may be the correct rendering of the Italian "assosimmetriche" here, or perhaps the original Italian is wrong and the correct word should have been " asimetriche", meaning "asymmetric". Does anybody know for sure? I've never studied optics and I'm certainly unfamiliar with the terminology of the subject.

Here's the 1974 version:

And here's the 1976 description:

We'll leave matters there for today and resume operations at the weekend with more models from Cressi's repertoire of diving masks.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, АлександрД.

Cressi made more conventional diving masks to complement its innovative designs. By way of example, here is the Alga, named after the Italian word for "seaweed" and introduced in the late 1950s:

The above is from Cressi's 1959 catalogue, which can be viewed at CRESSI Catalogo 1959 | BluTimeScubaHistory. A plain mask, sized as "Medium".

The Aga appeared again thus in 1966:

Still priced the same after 7 years at 800 lire. A typical oval mask for the 1960s.

 

[David Wilson]

A companion piece from 1959 was the Cressi Stella:

Note the size options for this model, media (Medium) and grande (Large). Sad, though, that modern diving masks generally come in one size only, the implication being that anybody whose face isn't an exact fit for a particular mask must be abnormally proportioned. If this is what today's diving mask manufacturers truly believe, they might well reflect on the story of Procrustes: "In the Greek myth, Procrustes was a son of Poseidon with a stronghold on Mount Korydallos at Erineus, on the sacred way between Athens and Eleusis. There he had a bed, in which he invited every passer-by to spend the night, and where he set to work on them with his smith's hammer, to stretch them to fit. In later tellings, if the guest proved too tall, Procrustes would amputate the excess length; nobody ever fitted the bed exactly. Procrustes continued his reign of terror until he was captured by Theseus, travelling to Athens along the sacred way, who 'fitted' Procrustes to his own bed: He killed Damastes, surnamed Procrustes, by compelling him to make his own body fit his bed, as he had been wont to do with those of strangers. And he did this in imitation of Heracles. For that hero punished those who offered him violence in the manner in which they had plotted to serve him" (Procrustes - Wikipedia).

Around its oval lens, the so-called "simple" Stella featured a stainless-steel band complete with top screw, which probably justified the higher price tag. As it happened, the Stella outlived the Alga by at least a decade. Here is the former in 1966:

In 1973:

1974:

and finally, in 1976:

No reference in its final year to size options, but at least the final translator has come up with a much more felicitous English rendering for the Italian "con vite di serragio" than "closed with screws". Better still would have been something along the lines of "reinforced with a screw" or "secured with a screw", but I'm probably being a little "picky" here.

The so-called "simple" Stella has a fine period look to it and I for one quite like the choice of a stainless-steel band to secure the lens rather than a bulkier clamp or frame that seems impossible to disassemble. The metal band enables the rubber lens rim to remain visible from the front, this being a distinctive feature of earlier Cressi diving masks.

 

[David Wilson]

Here are some images of a real-life Cressi Stella diving mask from an eBay auction:

"Stella B" embossed on the top of the mask indicates a Grande fitting, a size Large.

I'll finish here for today and return in a few days' time to review a few more Cressi masks of later vintage.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks, АлександрД.

We'll focus today on the remaining Cressi diving masks from the 1960s before moving on to the many models launched during the early 1970s. Let's start with the Semi-Pinocchio:

The image above came from a short 1964 catalogue in French. Why "Semi-Pinocchio"? I can't find an explanation anywhere, but I might speculate that it has something to do with the mask having the trademark compensator nosepiece but lacking the kidney-shaped lens of the original Pinocchio.

This 1964 product list includes a second version of the "Semi-Pinocchio":

The adjective "Optique" alludes to the installation of corrective lenses for the benefit of divers with eyesight issues. Note the use of the frame to anchor the strap on both sides with a separate buckle for adjustment.

The Semi-Pinocchio reappeared thus in Cressi 1966 lists before vanishing from sale: