Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century Spain: Nemrod

[David Wilson]

Second early Nemrod mask of the day is the Ceilan, which is Spanish for "Ceylon", the country now known as the Southern Asian island nation of Sri Lanka. Here is an image of the Ceilan from the wonderful Nemrod Museum on Facebook:

Here is a translated comment by the owner about this mask: "Model CEILAN (195?-1963). This is one of the very rare specimens still preserved of the masks Nemrod made in red rubber. As has been mentioned on other occasions, colours added to rubber caused a fairly rapid degradation of it and so it is very difficult to find today masks, fins or regulators with coloured rubber from the 40s-50s-60 s in an acceptable conservation status, especially when it comes to red rubber. The Ceylon mask in the photo is a simple model, small size and not a nose clamping model. Metallic hoop is made on a side of the mask instead of the upper or lower central area as in the other models. The front is not glass but plastic, a feature shared with other economic models of the brand".

Here are catalogue entries for the model un chronological order. First 1956:

Spanish: "Lentes CEILAN. 158 Pts. Con cristal amarillo irrompible que actúa de filtro".
Rough translation: "CEILAN mask. 158 Pesetas. With shatterproof yellow lens serving as a filter".

1960

1961

Spanish: "PS/2068. - CEILÓN. - Tipo universal económico. Su forma y reborde se adhiere a todas las caras con cierre absoluto. Va provista de aro metálico de seguridad y cristal muy nitido de forma ovalada".
Rough translation: "PS/2068. - CEILÓN. - Budget universal type. Its shape and border adheres to all faces absolutely leaktight. It is provided with a metallic security rim and very clear oval-shaped lens.

1962

Note the spelling change from "Ceilan" to "Ceilón". As for the idea of red as a mask colour, I am reminded of a Soviet mask called the "Amfibia":

The skirt of this mask was reportedly made from a blend of plastic and rubber, which may have conserved the mask's redness more than pure rubber would have done.

Enough for today. I'll be back at the weekend with more early Nemrod dive masks. Until then, keep safe and stay well.

 

[David Wilson]

A little bit more on the Nemrod Circular front:

I've noticed the images of the first-series Pirelli Nereide on Luigi Fabbri's BluTimeScubaHistory site:

The purpose of the tube here is to pass air automatically to the mask interior from the soft rubber cushion-like air reservoir at the back of the strap when the water applies pressure at depth.

I wonder whether the tube on the "Nemrod Circular con almohadilla" fulfils the same or a similar function of inflation, perhaps allowing the diver to blow air into a space inside the cushion between the skirt and his face for a more comfortable fit. The ferrule (or whatever) at the end of the tube may be a non-return inflation valve. Or perhaps I'm letting my imagination run riot a bit. What seems certain, however, is that both Pirelli and Nemrod eventually recognised that their tube plus cushion devices were examples of overengineering, a tendency that may still be plaguing today's underwater equipment design.

 

[Popgun Pete]

Does not seem to be any adjustment of the Pirelli mask strap so my guess is the bag goes against your head and inflating it tightens the mask strap up by pressing the bag against the back of your head. A not very smart idea!

Especially when the diver's lungs can supply air to the mask via his nose. Note the duck bill water drain valve.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, Angelo, Iowwall and Jale. And for the post, Pete.

We continue today with early Nemrod dive masks, beginning with the Ibiza model, named after a Spanish island (above) in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. Ibiza is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain.

As for the Nemrod Ibiza mask, the model was in production between the 1950s and 1963. Gere it is during the 1950s:

Spanish: "Mod. 2088. - Lentes ASTERIA modelo IBIZA con montura de plástico y cristal ovalado".
Rough translation: "2088 model. - ASTERIA IBIZA model with plastic body and oval lens".

So a diving mask with an oval lens and a plastic skirt. Here it is in 1959:

1960

Here we have three versions of the mask, one oval, another circular and yet another triangular. Here are some images from Facebook's Nemrod Museum:

 

[David Wilson]

Second Nemrod mask of the day is the Pinocho. The original Pinocchio mask (above) was designed by Luigi Ferraro for Cressi in Italy and the Nemrod version is clearly a copy of, or a tribute to, the original Italian design. Here it is during the 1950s:

Spanish: "Mod. 2067. - Lentes ASTERIA modelo PINOCHO. Con cristal corriente. Permiten la compensación de presiones sobre el oído".
Rough translation: "2067 model. - ASTERIA PINOCHO model mask. With plain glass lens. Allows pressure compensation on the ear".

Same nose pocket on the Spanish model as on the Italian original, but the former has two lenses, while the latter has just one. Here it is in 1957:

By 1959, a "Super Pinocho" model had appeared:

Spanish: "9 Lentes «Nemrod» modelo SUPER-PINOCHO, ideal para immersión pues permite fácilmente la compensación con los oídos".
Rough translation: "9 Nemrod SUPER-PINOCHO model mask, ideal for diving, enabling as it does easy ear compensation".

So a redesign, adopting the then new (and French-patented) internal bosses and external fingerwells approach to ear-clearing devised by Beuchat, Champion et al. Here is the same model in 1960:

So much for today's early Nemrod dive masks. There will be more under review some time midweek. Until then, keep safe and stay well.

 

[Popgun Pete]

In the late fifties and sixties as diving experienced its first boom there was a desire for coloured rubber goods with blue, green, yellow, orange and white rather than the early black (carbon black rubber additives) and red (clay rubber additives). Often this colour matching involved a complete set of mask, snorkel and fins. It was soon discovered that this brightly coloured rubber dive gear was not long-lived and tended to discolour unless you rarely used it. This resulted in many colour options being deleted, especially the white and yellow.

However the supplanting of rubber in much dive equipment today by silicone rubber and tough and flexible plastics was driven by this desire to offer coloured equipment that would last and the “any colour as long as it is black” period of dive gear has probably now gone for ever. Professionals and those who see their dive gear as tools rather than the latest fashion statement have tended to stick with black unless there is a need to be spotted at a distance on the surface for recovery purposes. Carbon black adds to the mechanical strength properties of rubber which is why car tyres are black.

 

[David Wilson]

You are so right, Pete, about the colour issue when it came to basic equipment in the early days. In the diving literature back then, there were warnings about fins and masks made in colours other than black to the effect that they would barely last a season in use. A bit of an exaggeration, perhaps, but there was also more of consensus that no gear was designed to last forever and that when natural rubber eventually perished, it would always be possible to replace it with something similar at an affordable price. Today's youth sometimes complains about the odour of natural rubber, but half-a century ago the fresh scent of the material was a sure sign that a mask or a pair of fins in a sports shop or dive store was brand new and had not been lying on the shelves unsold for months.

A selling point of soft plastic masks and fins in the old days was indeed the possibility of colour brightness. The Italian company manufacturing Aquatic brand equipment emphasised colour brightness in its sales literature. Another selling point of soft plastic gear is its cheapness as the material is a by-product of petroleum processing. Natural rubber fins takes a bit longer to process and mould than composite fins with thermoplastic elastomer foot pockets and synthetic blades. Judge for yourself at How it's made - Scuba Dive Rubber Fins.

I fear that the bottom line, the dismal science of economics dictated the changeover from all-rubber to TPE/plastics. When that bandwagon came on to the scene, much was made of the lightness (and hence flight-readiness) of the so-called space-age materials used in the manufacture of composite fins, although I recall all-rubber fins getting lighter anyway. No mention, of course of subjective factors such as the "liveness" of rubber fins like Jet Fins while the new-fangled synthetics were sterile, lifeless materials without natural rubber's comfortable adherence to the foot. As for silicone, it was launched as a mask material for divers with allergies that found fame in "The Deep" when the possibility of transparency resulted in more photogenic imagery. Transparent masks aren't universally popular now, of course, because of the sun's light blinding the user. Silicone seals appeared on drysuit sleeves with much hype about the obsolescence of latex cuffs, only for the discovery to be made later that silicone seals tore more easily and were harder to replace afterwards. No material is perfect; what matters are the desirability of its positive attributes and the insignificance of its negative characteristics. TPE, silicone and plastic aren't better per se than natural rubber, they are simply different materials.

Finally, the Japanese stand by tradtional rubber fins while refusing to compromise on colour options:

And the Malaysians and Taiwanese are similarly committed to choice:

So in the twenty-first century, composites aren't the only fins and all-rubber fins continue to be made, at least in the Far East where the plantations are.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, Angelo, Mordem, jale and SubseaSports. And thanks for the post, Pete.

More early Nemrod diving masks. First the Teseo, Spanish for "Theseus" (above), the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens, who is represented above killing the Minotaur.

And here is the Teseo mask from the 1950s:

Spanish: "Mod. 2034.-Lentes ASTERIA modelo TESEO, con cristal circular".
Rough translation: "Mod. 2034.-ASTERIA TESEO model mask, with circular lens".

1957

1960

Finally, here is a Nemrod Museum image of the Teseo with other gear:

The Teseo is the mask on the left, a fairly typical oval model of the 1950s and early 1960s rather than anything extraordinary reminiscent of the deeds of mythical hero Theseus of ancient times.

 

[David Wilson]

Second Nemrod mask of the day is the Tarzán, named after the fictional hero Tarzan above created by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

1955

1960

So a dive mask with long sides, rendering the model old-fashioned looking even during the 1950s. It sported a metal rim, however, signalling a better-quality design.

Sufficient for the day and I shall return at the weekend with more early Nemrod eyewear. Until then, keep safe and stay well.

 

[Popgun Pete]

Thanks for the likes, Angelo, Mordem, jale and SubseaSports. And thanks for the post, Pete.

More early Nemrod diving masks. First the Teseo, Spanish for "Theseus" (above), the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens, who is represented above killing the Minotaur.

And here is the Teseo mask from the 1950s:

View attachment 737461​

Spanish: "Mod. 2034.-Lentes ASTERIA modelo TESEO, con cristal circular".
Rough translation: "Mod. 2034.-ASTERIA TESEO model mask, with circular lens".

1957

View attachment 737464​

1960

View attachment 737465​

Finally, here is a Nemrod Museum image of the Teseo with other gear:

View attachment 737466​

The Teseo is the mask on the left, a fairly typical oval model of the 1950s and early 1960s rather than anything extraordinary reminiscent of the deeds of mythical hero Theseus of ancient times.

Interesting to see the young model reclining beside a cocked to shoot speargun pointing skywards! That is Nemrod's band powered spear pistol which uses the Nemrod spring gun handle modified with side lugs and a short front barrel to mount a long spear that projects from the rear. The lugs provide a means to wrap the band loop around the lower front of the handle nose and then pull in a line with the spear. A variation of this cast alloy clamshell handle was also used on Nemrod's first pneumatic speargun and was itself copied from the grip on the United Service Agency’s spring guns devised by Kramarenko and Wilen.