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

[АлександрД]

Plastic face plates tend to scratch up and fog, so these masks with a moulded nose piece in the actual lens would not be long-lived unless you were careful with it. Today people can buy mask transport boxes that stop the mask jiggling around with the rest of the gear, but the mask needs to go in the box clean of any sand.

Aqua Sphere... over 10 years of usage... scratched .... not as by sand paper, but enough to see it... on the surface underwater you can not see it.

 

[Popgun Pete]

Aqua Sphere... over 10 years of usage... scratched .... not as by sand paper, but enough to see it... on the surface underwater you can not see it.

Yes, I have one of those, it never strays far from its box when I am not using it. It was a spin-off of a monogoggle which shares the same lens, but with no nosepiece.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks again, everyone for the useful, informative interventions and the appreciation.

On to the Pirelli Narvalo diving mask, as promised a few days ago. "Narvalo" is Italian for "narwhal" (above). A narwhal or narwhale (Monodon monoceros) is a medium-sized toothed whale possessing a large "tusk" from a protruding canine tooth.

1961

The Narvalo is the model at the top of the catalogue page. I'll venture the hypothesis that the most prominent feature of the Narwhal - its swordfish tusk - is the inspiration behind the Narvalo's most prominent feature - its nosepiece - and hence its product name. Note how the Minimo has its "proboscis" as a protuberance in its plastic lens, while the Narvalo's nose recess is separate from, and below, the lens, which is specially shaped to curve above the nose. As such, the Narvalo is reminiscent of the prototype Cressi Pinocchio conceived a decade earlier, here worn by its designer Luigi Ferraro and still available today:

1963

Italian: "NARVALO (m.r.). Con ghiera metallica a sede nasale in gomma stampata. Ampio campo visivo. Consente una facile compensazione. Munito di vetro temperato."
Rough translation: "NARVALO®. Metal band and moulded rubber nose recess. Wide field of vision. Possible to compensate easily. Fitted with tempered glass."

The Narvalo name then vanished from the catalogue for a whole decade until 1973, when it reincarnated with a different look:

That's it, in the middle, top row, along with plenty of "lookalikes".

 

[David Wilson]

The story of the Narvalo name is a little different, however, from the other Pirelli masks we have already reviewed. A year after the Narvalo disappeared in 1963, a "Supernarvalo" (Super-narwhal) mask appeared in 1964:

Italian: "SUPERNAVALO®. Ghiera metallica, vetro temperato, con sede nasale di morbida gomma stampata. Realizzato per la comodità et l'immediatezza della compensazione e per l'impiego a grandi profondità. L 2.100".
Rough translation: "SUPERNAVALO®. Metal band, tempered glass, with soft moulded rubber nose recess. Made for convenience and immediacy of compensation and for use at great depths. L 2,100."

1965

Italian: "SUPERNAVALO®. Ghiera metallica, vetro temperato, con sede nasale di morbida gomma stampata. Realizzato per la comodità et l'immediatezza della compensazione e per l'impiego a grandi profondità. L 2.250".
Rough translation: "SUPERNAVALO®. Metal band, tempered glass, with soft moulded rubber nose recess. Made for convenience and immediacy of compensation and for use at great depths. L 2,250."

No change there, then, other than a price hike from 2,100 lire to 2,250 lire.

1966

No change there.

 

[David Wilson]

The Supernavalo continued production for the remainder of the 1960s and indeed until the mid-1970s:

1967

No change from 1966.

1968

Ditto

1974

Italian: "Supernarvalo 5). Ghiera in materia plastica, rossa o nera, con viti di bloccaggio annegate, vetro temperato, con sede nasale di morbida gomma stampata. Realizzato per la comodità e l'immediatezza della compensazione e per l'impiego a grandi profondità. Minimo volume interno. Colori: azzurro, nero, giallo, secondo la disponibilità. Imballo di spedizione: scatole da 20 pezzi."
Rough translation: "Supernarwhal 5). Plastic band, red or black, with embedded locking screws, tempered glass, with soft molded rubber nose recess. Made for convenience and immediacy of compensation and for use at great depths. Minimum internal volume. Colours: blue, black, yellow, according to availability. Shipping packaging: boxes of 20 pieces.

So a change in material for the lens retaining band from stainless steel to plastic.

And there we leave it for today, with a mid-week return for the Pirelli Alfeo mask. In the meantime, stay healthy and stay safe as we grow into the New Year. Here in the UK, the country is under strict lockdown with all non-essential stores closed but schools due to reopen in England against the advice of head teachers. Not a good start to the year, while vaccination shows no signs of speeding up. We'll all muddle through as we always do, I suppose, and that's what counts.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, guys!

Now, as promised, for the Pirelli Alfeo diving mask. "Alfeo" is Italian for "Alpheus" (Ancient Greek: Ἀλφειός), meaning "whitish"), in Greek mythology a river (the modern Alfeios River) and river god. Like most river gods, he is a son of Oceanus and Tethys. Alpheus was a passionate hunter and fell in love with the nymph Arethusa (both pictured above), but she fled from him to the island of Ortygia near Syracuse, and metamorphosed herself into a well, after which Alpheus became a river, which flowing from the Peloponnese under the sea to Ortygia, there united its waters with those of the well Arethusa.

Pirelli's Alfeo mask made its début in 1960:

The mask (top) is captioned as "per immersioni a grandi profondità. Con ghiera metallica, vetro trapezoidale. L. 1.350" (for diving to great depths. With metal band, trapezoidal window. 1,350 lire). As a mask for deep dives, it contrasts with the other eyewear on the page and priced accordingly.

1963

Here the Alfeo (top right) has reduced in price, while mentioning once more the mask's metal band retaining its trapezoidal lens. The image provides a better view of the model. Note how the "flatter" side of the trapezoid has moved from the bottom to the top.

1964

No change in price or caption.

1965

A small price hike for the mask (bottom right), no change in product description, but an opportunity to see the model in colour. Back in 1960, the mask was available in green and black as well as dark blue.

 

[David Wilson]

The Pirelli Alfeo remained in production throughout the 1960s and into the mid-1970s.

1966

Same price, same caption as 1965.

1967

Ditto.

1968

No change.

1974

Italian: "Alfeo 9). Ghiera metallica, vetro trapezoidale temperato. Colori: azzurro, nero, giallo, secondo la disponibilità. Imballo di spedizione: scatole da 20 pezzi."
Rough translation: "Alfeo 9). Metal band, tempered trapezoidal lens. Colours: light blue, black, yellow, according to availability. Shipping packaging: boxes of 20 pieces."

So a plain, traditional diving mask, lacking compensator bosses for ear-clearing while retaining its metal surround to the end, albeit finally shorn of its top screw.

And there we leave matters for today. We'll take a look at the Pirelli Palinuro diving mask next time. Stay well, stay safe.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, everyone!

Now for today's Pirelli diving mask, the "Palinuro". Nowadays, "Palinuro" is a small Italian town (above), the most populated civil parish of Centola, Province of Salerno, in the Campania region. The name of the town derives from Palinurus, the helmsman of Aeneas, as recorded in the fifth and sixth books of Roman poet Virgil's epic Aeneid. As "Palinuro" in Italian also signifies "Palinurus", I would venture to say that Pirelli probably named today's mask after Aeneas's helmsman in keeping with naming its range of diving masks after sea-related figures of ancient Greek mythology. Anyway, the Pirelli Palinuro made its début in 1963:

Italian: "PALINURO (m.r.). Con ghiera metallica e vetro trapezoidale. Ampio campo visivo. Munito di appositi incavi per la compensazione. L. 1.650".
Rough translation: "PALINURO®. With metal band and trapezoidal window. Wide field of vision. Fitted with special compensation recesses. L. 1,650 ".

It's the light blue model in the middle of the bottom row of the catalogue page above. Its presence with the other pictured masks goes to show that Pirelli was trialling different nostril-pinching ear-clearing features alongside non-compensator models.

1964

No change there except for the mask adopting a darker shade of blue.

1965

Top row on the right. No change in product description epart from a price hike to 1,780 lire. The image above enables us to see how much the Palinuro, Tritone and Alfeo resemble one another in morphology, differing in ear-clearing capabilities.

 

[David Wilson]

The Palinuro lasted until the mid-1970s. Here it is in 1966:

No change in product information there, with the references to the trapezoidal window retained by a metal band, the compensator feature and the wide field of vision.

1967

Mask top right. Ditto for description and price.

1968

No change in description or price. Note heading "Occhiali per osservazione, caccia subacquea, nuoto", which defines the mask as suitable for (surface) observation, underwater hunting and swimming. Not an endorsement for scuba diving, therefore.

1974

Italian: "Palinuro 8). Ghiera metallica con bloccaggio a pressione di sicurezza, vetro trapezoidale temperato, appositi incavi per un'agevole compensazione. Ampio campo visivo. Colori: azzurro, nero, giallo, secondo la disponibilità. Imballo di spedizione: scatole da 20 pezzi."
Rough translation: "Palinuro 8). Metal band with safety pressure lock, trapezoidal tempered-glass window, special recesses for ease of compensation. Wide field of vision. Colours: light blue, black, yellow, according to availability. Shipping packaging: boxes of 20 pieces."

In conclusion, a few auction images of Pirelli Palinuros:

So much for the Palinuro mask. I'll return midweek with another Pirelli mask, the SM 67 Professional. Until then, stay well and stay safe.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks to everyone for the likes!

As promised, the Pirelli SM 67 diving mask. SM 67 is the name Pirelli assigned to a fin, mask and snorkel set launched in 1967. The contents of this kit are illustrated above on a page from a 1966 issue of the Italian diving magazine Mondo Sommerso. According toi the caption, the SM 67 mask will have a shatterproof glass lens with a stainless-steel retaining band. The skirt will fit most faces, offering a good seal. The field of vision will be high, while the internal volume will be low. The magazine followed up with a review in 1967, when the set was first marketed:

Italian: "La maschera: ha una ghiera in acciaio inossidabile, vetro di sicurezza temperato (intercambiabile con la massima facilità) e una ventosa interna per ottenere la migliore adattabilità al viso. Ha un notevole campo visivo, pur mantenendo un ridotto volume interno. L. 2.400."
Rough translation: "The mask: has a stainless steel band, tempered safety-glass lens (easily interchangeable) and an inner seal to achieve the best fit to the face. It has a considerable field of view, while maintaining a small internal volume. L. 2,400."

Here is the mask in the 1967 Pirelli catalogue:

Italian: "Occhiale. Gomma nera di speciale morbidezza ed elasticità. Ventosa interna per una completa tenuta. Sede nasale atta ad una facile ed immediata compensazione. Ghiera in acciaio inossidabile. Cristallo temperato. Ampio e libero campo visivo. Ridottissimo volume interno. L. 2.400."
Rough translation: "Goggles. Black rubber of special softness and elasticity. Inner suction pad for a complete seal. Nose recess suitable for easy and immediate compensation. Stainless steel band. Tempered glass. Wide and free field of vision. Very low internal volume. L. 2,400."

Pirelli pitched the SM 67 fin, mask and snorkel set as a professional option, suggesting a higher-quality product that does not skimp on comfort, fit, durability, breadth of vision or minimal inner volume. Here is the mask again in a 1969 German-language Pirelli catalogue:

German: "Tauchmaske. Schwarz. Weiche, elastische Ausführung. Temperglas. Metallrahmen (rostfrei). Gumminase für bequemen Druckausgleich."
Rough translation: "Diving mask. Black. Soft, elastic design. Tempered glass lens. Metal band (rustproof). Rubber nose for easy pressure equalisation."