Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century Spain: Nemrod

[David Wilson]

The Nemrod Max-Vue was not a unique panoramic design for its time. Compare:

Mares Panoramica (Italy: 1960)

Hurricane Argonaute (France: 1957)

Aqualung Professional (USA: 1960)

Barakuda Stromboli (Germany: 1960)

Haffenden-Richborough Salamander (UK: 1970s)

 

[David Wilson]

Second Nemrod mask of the day is the Majórica, which may have been named after a Spanish cultured-pearl company or its products. Here it is in 1961:

Spanish: "MAJÓRICA. - Panorámica. De gran ángulo de visión por su inclinación sobre la frente. Provista de membrana expulsora. Permite la compensación de presión sobre el oído. Se fabrica con: PS/2173. - Cristal muy nítido y aro metálico de seguridad sencillo para turismo submarina y PS/2174. - Cristal inastillable de doble lámina y aro metálico de gran seguridad forma U, para pesca e inmersión submarina".
Rough translation: "MAJORICA. - Panoramic. With a wide angle of vision due to its inclination on the forehead. Supplied with exhaust membrane. Allows pressure compensation on the ear. It is manufactured with: PS/2173. - Very clear glass and simple metallic security rim for underwater tourism and PS/2174. - Double-glazed shatterproof lens and highly secure U-shaped metal rim, for fishing and underwater diving".

1964

1965

1966

And here is the Majórica in an auction picture:

That's enough for today. More 1960s Nemrod masks at the weekend. Until then, keep safe and stay well.

 

[WeRtheOcean]

Next up is the Nemrod Antillas diving mask. "Antillas" is Spanish for "Antilles" (above), an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east.

Interesting the theme of naming masks after islands: Ceylon, Bermuda, Ibiza, Madeira, Canaries, and Antilles. Could Majorica have been meant to allude to Mallorca, another of Balearics along with Ibiza? I wonder if there was one named after the Azores?

Interestingtly, long before Columbus' voyages, maps of the Atlantic ocean showed an island called "Antilla," fairly near to where the real Antilles are. Of course, it is possible that the Antilles were named after the mythical Antilla because explorers noticed that they were in a similar area; but it is intriguing that "Antilla" is shown as a rectangle-shaped island. It may be just coincidence, of course, but Puerto Rico is also rectangle-shaped. I do wonder if some mariner got lost, stumbled upon the Antilles, and eventually made it home to tell a garbled tale.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, Angelo and Jale, and for the post, WeRtheOcean. So far as I am aware, Nemrod didn't make a mask called "Azore(s)", but you make an interesting point about masks being named after islands.

Today we shall look at the Coronado mask in the Nemrod range. Both models varied in design over the years. "Coronado" is Spanish for "Crowned". Isla Coronado (above), occasionally referred to as “Smith Island”, is just off the eastern shoreline of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula near Bahía de los Ángeles in the Gulf of California. The island is approximately 7 kilometres long and it is dominated by a volcano on its northern end. "Coronado" is also the name of several settlements in North, Central and South America. Here is the Coronada mask in a 1963 Seamless catalogue:

1964

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1965

1966

This Coronado design is called "Type 1" by Facebook's Nemrod Museum. It was marketed between 1963 and 1968. An oval mask whose distinctive feature is the exhaust valve on its base to remove residual water from the interior.

 

[David Wilson]

A new version of the Coronado became available between 1985 and 1987:

Facebook's Nemrod Museum calls this model "Type 2". Note the replacement of the top screw.

And here is Nemrod Museum's Type 3 Coronado, marketed between 1988 and 1997:

The above image from this site is accompanied by the comment: "The Coronado mask was undoubtedly one of Nemrod's most successful. This model remained in the catalogue for 34 years and 5 variants are known which present slight differences between them.

 

[David Wilson]

We shall finish today with some pictures of actual Coronado masks:

And here is the Coronado is a Fort Lauderdale bewspaper ad from 1968:

So much for today's offering. We shall review the Nemrod Oporto mask next time, midweek. Stay safe and keep well.

 

[Popgun Pete]

The purge valve on some Nemrod masks was sealed by a membrane, so if you did not want to use it then you left that membrane intact. That is what I did as these devices could be a source of leaks and blowing water out of the mask via the skirt was no problem at all if you angled your head for the water to depart via the then lowest point with your hand on the top of the frame.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, Angelo, Jale and Luis. And for the post, Pete. I too have always opted to keep mask exhaust valves sealed for the same reasons.

Now for the Nemrod Oporto mask, named after the city of Porto or Oporto above, the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas.

Here is the Oporto mask in 1961:

Spanish: "PS/2172.-La máscara ideal para turismo u pesca submarina. Provista de válvula expulsora, de gran capacidad, situada en la parte exterior, permite aspirar por la boco y espirar por la nariz simultáneamente. Montada con cristal inastillable de doble lámino y aro metálico de gran seguridad forma U".
Rough translation: "PS/2172.-The ideal mask for tourism or underwater fishing. Provided with a large-capacity drain valve, located on the outside, it enables the user to breathe in through the mouth and breathe out through the nose simultaneously. Fitted with double-layer shatterproof glass lens and U-shaped high-security metal rim.

So a traditional oval mask fitted with a heavy-duty metal rim, a shatterproof flass lens, a split strap and an exhaust valve on the front that is often delightfully referenced in Far East trade literature as a "pig-nose" valve. on account of its snout-like appearance.

1962

1963

1965

Facebook's Nemrod Museum distinguishes two versions of the Oporto. Type 1 was marketed bettween 1962 and 1968:

According to the Museum, the Oporto model was actually a modified Bermuda model mask to which a cumbersome valve was added to the bottom of the glass to ease the expulsion of any water that might enter the mask. Note the large screw atop the metal clamp. which was the feature distinguishing the Type 1 from the Type 2. The Oporto type 1 model was only marketed in Spain during the 1962-63 period; it remained in the US market place until 1968.

 

[David Wilson]

The Type 2 Nemrod Oporto dive mask was marketed between 1969 and 1976 in the USA only, hence the Seamless Rubber Company's Nemrod Seamco label on the model below:

Have you spotted the difference yet between the Type 2 and the Type1 designs? Yes, the absence of the top screw from the former, replaced by a snap-on rim.

I am going to pause at this point, leaving the Bali diving mask for the weekend, as it went through no fewer than five versions. Until then, keep safe and stay well.

 

[Popgun Pete]

Sportsways offered a similar pig nose mask and they were often seen in Skin Diver magazine articles as some of their contributors wore them, so Nemrod sold their version in the USA as a competitor.