Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century Italy: Mares and Pirelli

[David Wilson]

I'll begin as I did when reviewing Mares basic equipment, namely with the earliest identifiable Pirelli diving masks without built-in snorkels. Fabio Vitale's article VIAGGIO NELLE ATTREZZATURE SPORTIVE DEGLI ANNI ’50 lists five such candidates for consideration: the 1950 Ciclope, the 1956 the Ciclope, the Argo Doukan, the Nereo and the Tritone. Taking his lead, today's mask will be the Pirelli Ciclope, pictured below from Vitale's piece:

On the left, the 1950 Ciclope. Vitale's caption: "Maschera Ciclope 1950 Pirelli. Carcassa in gomma con bordo facciale a soffietto ed ampio cristallo tondo bloccato da ghiera metallica. Misura unica grande." My rough translation: "1950 Pirelli Ciclope Mask. Rubber body with concertina-style facial border and wide round lens retained by metal band. One size only: large." On the right, the 1956 Ciclope. Vitale's caption: "Maschera Ciclope 1956 Pirelli. Carcassa in gomma colorata con cristallo ovale leggermente inclinato verso la fronte per ridurre l’effetto rifrazione. Misura unica media." My rough translation: "1956 Pirelli Ciclope Mask. Coloured rubber body with oval glass lens slightly angled towards the front to reduce refraction effect. Medium size only."

So the 1956 version differs from the 1950 original in a number of ways. It is medium-sized, with a coloured body and an inclined lens to reduce refraction, demonstrating perhaps that the manufacturer was prepared to modify products in the light of scientific research and user feedback.

"Ciclope" is Italian for "Cyclops", which was a giant mythological creature with one eye in the centre of the forehead (above). The word "Cyclops" itself derives from Greek Κύκλωπες, Kýklōpes, meaning "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes", which seems a quite appropriate name for a diving mask with a single circular lens to replace the twin-lens, non-nose-enclosing goggles used by the underwater hunters of the mid-1930s.

 

[David Wilson]

Here is the Ciclope in 1959:

A much clearer image showing a plain mask with a soft skirt and a round lens without a metal retaining band. No change in the 1960 catalogue:

However, the caption page reveals that the mask was made in green, dark blue and black, subject to availability.

The Ciclope then vanished from the Pirelli underwater catalogues until 1974, when it reappeared just for that year as No. 7 on the page below:

Not the same design, of course, simply a resurrection of the name "Ciclope" for a more advanced model captioned thus: "Ciclope (7). Di gomma colore azzurro, nero, giallo, seconda la disponibilità. Ghiera metallica con bloccaggio pressione di sicurezza. Vetro ovale temperato, bordato in plastica di colore giallo, bianco e nero. Buon campo visivo. Imballo di spedizione: scatola da 20 pezzi." My rough translation: "Cyclope (7). Made of blue, black, yellow rubber, depending on availability. Metal band with security pressure lock. Oval tempered glass, edged in yellow, white and black plastic. Good field of vision. Shipping packaging: box of 20 pieces."

So that's today's quota. I'll be back midweek with a review of the Argo-Doukan, whose design was patented by Dr Gilbert Doukan, author of The World Beneath the Waves. Ijn the meantime, keep well and stay safe.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks, one and all, for the great reception!

Now for the Pirelli Argo-Doukan. As I mentioned last time, Dr Gilbert Doukan, author of The World Beneath the Waves, was responsible for the mask's original design, so we'll start with his Spanish patent. First, the drawing:

and here is the text, which I've rendered into English. Please don't judge me too harshly on the quality of my translation as I haven't had a single Spanish lesson in my life and my efforts are down to my decades-old degree-level knowledge of a related Romance language, French, plus my interaction with Google Translate and Linguee online with a good measure of Sprachgefühl (feeling for language) factored in on my part.

REGISTRATION OF A UTILITY MODEL for “Improved underwater goggles” on behalf of Mr Gilbert DOUKAN, a French national, domiciled at: 66 rue de la Rochefoucauld, PARIS.

SPECIFICATION
The present invention relates to an improvement introduced in underwater goggles of the mask fronted with a single window type.
These goggles are an already known type, covering the face while protecting the user’s eyes and nose from contact with water.
Goggles of the known type have a single window allowing normal vision of everything in front of the mask wearer, but preventing all lateral vision without having to rotate the head to one side or the other.
The purpose of the invention is to alleviate this drawback, and its object is underwater goggles that considerably enlarge the visual field, as the horizontal field of visibility is increased by a total of about 120 degrees, i.e., about 60 degrees for each eye.
The underwater goggles, which are the object of the utility model registration referenced in the present specification, mainly comprise a mask-body of elastic material, at least in the area where said mask applies to the face. The goggles are fronted with a window, preferably elliptical, while there are transparent plates located at the sides, allowing lateral visibility. The goggles are provided with a means of attaching said mask at a point located to ensure the perfect extensive application of the body on the user’s face.
Under one preferred embodiment of the model, the mask is made of rubber with reduced thickness in the area in contact with the face. The front window is made of shatterproof glass or the like. The edges of this window are retained, in a watertight manner, within a groove made in the inner edge of the elliptical part of the mask. A window is provided on each side of the mask for lateral vision, consisting of a round shatterproof lens or the like, sealed in a housing made for said purpose on each side. On the outside, said housings have two diametrically opposite projections, directed vertically relative to said mask. They have a channel on the outside designed to receive the ends of a semicircular bracket, preferably made of rustproof material.
The essential nature of the model is explained in detail below with references to the attached drawings. By way of a non-limiting example under the invention, figure 1 represents a front exterior view of the goggles, figure 2 is a side exterior view of said goggles and figure 3 is a top exterior view thereof.
As shown in the attached drawings, the goggles referenced in the model consist of an actual mask 1, made of rubber, whose edges 2 are thinned to ensure a better seal when the body is in contact with the face. The front has a transparent lens 3, which can be made from a shatterproof material or the like, retained in a watertight manner within a groove made in the internal edge of the mask window.
A window 4 is embedded in either side 5 of the mask within a housing 6 made in said side. Due to the presence of the projections and of a rigid plane comprising the side window, the general flexibility of the mask that would ensure its watertight application is altered, and the attachment point for the mask retaining straps must not be at the rear. This attachment point is located further forward, and comprises the projections 7, 8 provided in said housing and having a side channel made to receive the ends of a bracket 9 that rotates in the channel itself. This bracket may be made from stainless steel, for instance, or from another metal coated with a protective layer or of from other rustproof material.
The rubber straps 10, adjustable by means of buckles 11, are provided to ensure the goggles remain attached to the face.
It can be seen that a user of these goggles has a much wider field of vision than any of the known types of goggles will allow and that they ensure a lateral visibility that is a great advantage and often a necessity in the event of these goggles being used for underwater fishing, for example.
Any other embodiment could be devised without constraining the essentiality of the utility model defined in the present specifications. By way of example, underwater goggles might be devised with side windows that were a continuation of the one at the front. Similarly, the side windows can vary in shape.

NOTE
To register the utility model referenced in the present specification, ownership and exploitation of the following are hereby CLAIMED exclusively:
1. Improved underwater goggles essentially characterised as comprising a mask of flexible and elastic material at least in the area where it applies to the face. At the front, the goggles have a window, which is preferably elliptical. Imbedded in the side walls of the goggles are small windows fitted with transparent material to allow lateral visibility. The means of attaching the mask are arranged in such a manner that the location of the fastening point ensures a perfect watertight application of the assembly to the face of the user.
2. Improved underwater goggles as specified in 1, characterised by the mask being made of rubber with less thickness where it is in contact with the face. The front window is provided with shatterproof glass or the like retained by its edges, in a watertight manner, in a groove made in the contour of the central space of the mask where the window is established. The small side windows are each made of round shatterproof glass or the like. They are fitted tightly in a housing made for this purpose on the side faces of the mask. Such housings are provided on the outside with opposite projections, directed vertically relative to the goggles, which have perforations or channels intended to receive the ends of semicircular brackets, preferably made of rustproof material, to which the goggle-retaining devices are attached.
3.- Exclusive ownership and exploitation of the registered object, whatever circumstances concur with its essentiality defined in the previous claims, the object being: Improved underwater goggles.
The present specification consists of six sheets of paper, written on one side only.
Barcelona, 17 March 1954.
Pp Don Doukan.

If you want to read Gilbert Doukan's patent ES42795 for "Unas gafas submarinas perfeccionadas" in the original Spanish, it's here on Espacenet.

 

[jale]

A Spanish patent from a French guy used by an Italian Manufacturer

 

[David Wilson]

The Argo-Doukan mask appears in Fabio Vitale's article VIAGGIO NELLE ATTREZZATURE SPORTIVE DEGLI ANNI ’50, which reviews diving masks from the 1950s. The model's entry reads as follows:

Italian: "Maschera Argo Doukan Pirelli. Adatta ad ogni viso, con carcassa in gomma nera o colorata ed ampio cristallo di forma ovale; sui fianchi della carcassa sono inseriti due oblò che ne aumentano il campo visivo. Misura unica media."
Rough translation: "Pirelli Argo Doukan Mask. Adapts to every face, with black or coloured rubber body and large oval lens; two portholes are inserted on the sides of the body, increasing the field of view. Medium size only.

So there we have the commercial "embodiment" of Doukan's design as his Spanish patent terms it. The distinctive feature of this mask is, of course, the presence of "portholes" on either side to give lateral as well as frontal vision to the mask wearer. Let's not forget, however, the elongated sides of the mask too, reminiscent of early Cressi and Mares models:

I would imagine that the Argo-Doukan must have been a bulky, heavy, high-volume affair, compared with the Cressi Pinocchio, say:

 

[David Wilson]

The Argo-Doukan mask appears in Fabio Vitale's article VIAGGIO NELLE ATTREZZATURE SPORTIVE DEGLI ANNI ’50, which reviews diving masks from the 1950s. The model's entry reads as follows:
View attachment 629292
Italian: "Maschera Argo Doukan Pirelli. Adatta ad ogni viso, con carcassa in gomma nera o colorata ed ampio cristallo di forma ovale; sui fianchi della carcassa sono inseriti due oblò che ne aumentano il campo visivo. Misura unica media."
Rough translation: "Pirelli Argo Doukan Mask. Adapts to every face, with black or coloured rubber body and large oval lens; two portholes are inserted on the sides of the body, increasing the field of view. Medium size only.

So there we have the commercial "embodiment" of Doukan's design as his Spanish patent terms it. The distinctive feature of this mask is, of course, the presence of "portholes" on either side to give lateral as well as frontal vision to the mask wearer. Let's not forget, however, the elongated sides of the mask too, reminiscent of early Cressi and Mares models:

I would imagine that the Argo-Doukan must have been a bulky, heavy, high-volume affair, compared with the Cressi Pinocchio, say, which belongs in the same era:

 

[David Wilson]

A Spanish patent from a French guy used by an Italian Manufacturer

That's continental Europe for you. At least Spanish, French and Italian are all Romance, i.e. Latin-derived languages, so there is "intercomprehensibility" among them!

 

[David Wilson]

We move on to 1959:
Top left a close-up, and at the bottom, an underwater hunter actually wearing what is now simply called a Pirelli "Argo" mask.

1960

Note the acknowledgement of the Doukan patent on the left-hand page of the catalogue. By the way, in Greek mythology, "Argo" (Greek: Ἀργώ) was the ship on which Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece. The early diving equipment manufacturers did love their Greek mythologocal allusions, learned during a classical education and remembered as the new Mediterranean countries contemplated their predecessors in antiquity.

Here are some images of the Argo I chanced upon:

 

[David Wilson]

Finally, Doukan's patent resulted in an "embodiment" from another manufacturer, the 1957 French-made Hurricane "Argonaute":

so the Pirelli Argo was not unique in the marketplace.

That will suffice for today. I shall return at the weekend with a review of a couple of Pirelli diving masks, the Nereo and the Tritone. In the meantime, keep well and stay safe.

 

[Popgun Pete]

Once people began to dive down rather than sight see from the surface the wisdom of tying a bucket of air to your head was found to not be such a good idea. Besides the internal volume to be equalized there was the buoyancy inherent in such masks, although some heavy rimmed monsters with twin snorkels no doubt benefited from it as the masks themselves were quite heavy.