1930 -1940

• 1938 – Brothers Egidio and Nanni Cressi start to handcraft the first masks and spearfishing guns. These are the origins of Cressi, the oldest scuba diving equipment company worldwide.
• 1943 – The first Cressi mask, The Sirena, was hand crafted in 1943. It remained in the catalogue, with various updates, for more than 30 years.
• 1946 – The Cressi company is officially founded in Genova, Italy.
• 1946 – By the late 1940s, Cressi had in its catalogue a complete range of spearguns of varying lengths and strengths. The line included about a dozen separate models.
• 1947 – Aro AR47 – In 1947 the first oxygen rebreather was produced; it was already highly advanced and fitted with sophisticated technical solutions, like the condensation receptacle.
• 1948 – A wide range of masks were available for all needs: spearfishing, snorkeling and scuba ping.

1950

• 1950 – Cressi becomes an international company, and it starts to export its products all over the world.
• 1952 – Pinocchio Mask – Cressi invented and produced the first mask in the world with a dedicated nose pocket, which makes equalization possible. It is a major innovation in the early’50s. It is the most famous and most sold mask in the world’s history, and it is still included in the catalogue.
• 1953 – Rondine Fins – Also in the field of fins, Cressi invented the model that has inspired all other manufacturers. Some of the revolutionary features of the Rondine fins were: the blade tilted from the foot, the strong side reinforcements, the upper opening for toes, and the closed foot pocket.
• 1954 – Aer 54 speargun – In 1951 the Aer 51 was presented. It was a speargun using the gas contained in small, economical CO2 tanks for propulsion. In 1954 the updated version called Air 54 was introduced.
• 1957 – Cressi athlete Mario Catalani wins the spearfishing world title in Jugoslavia. It is the first spearfishing world tournament in history.
• 1957 – Aro Ar57b – In 1957, the new oxygen rebreather was presented and immediately adopted by the Italian armed forces, by fire-fighters and by pe schools. It was the simplest, most reliable and safe oxygen device on the market, and is still being used by some armed forces.
• 1959 – Cressi athlete Terry Lentz wins the spearfishing world title in Malta.

1960

• 1960 – At the end of the ’50s the Cressi range of Rondine fins was expanded with the floating model, the open-heel model and in 1960, with the futuristic Super Rondine, which had special flaps that automatically opened to eliminate the negative zone of the fin and to increase thrust performance.
• 1960 – Cressi athlete Bruno de Otero Hermanny wins the spearfishing world title in Italy.
• 1963 – Cressi athlete Bruno de Otero Hermanny wins the spearfishing world title in Brasil.
• 1965 – Pneumatic spearguns – In the mid ’60s, the Mach 1.1 pneumatic speargun was presented, followed by the 0.9 model and by the Aer Saetta, a range that stayed in the catalogue for many years, thanks to their excellent craftsmanship and excellent performances.
• 1965 – Polaris 4 regulator – The Polaris 4, legendary two-stage regulator entered production, with the piston first stage and the housing of the second stage in chromed brass. Its extraordinary reliability and minimum maintenance needs made it the favorite of pers all over the world. In the 1960s, Cressi opened one of the first workshops that specialized in producing optical masks: Pinocchio and Semi-Pinocchio, followed over the years by various other models. Thanks to Cressi, even people with visual defects could now get full enjoyment of the underwater universe.
• 1967 – The Pinocchio Vi. Erre (Reduced Volume) introduced a new kind of accentuated V mask, which drastically reduced the inner volume of the mask, without compromising visibility.

1970

• 1970 -Polaris 5S – Cressi designed the Polaris 5, its first balanced two-stage regulator, conceived to provide excellent performance to scuba pers to assist in their ping records and for coral pers.
• 1970 – Rondine L long fins – The world leader of molding rubber fins, Cressi developed the Rondine L long fins, which enabled Jacques Mayol to go onto achieve his astonishing free ping records.
• 1974 – Control instruments – A substantial series of control instruments made it possible for pers to pe in complete safety.
• 1979 – Fins range – Alongside the various rubber fin models, a futuristic model was presented with a reinforced nylon blade, called the Rondine Gara, a fin that thirty years down the line is still going strong, and has been adopted by world class free-pers and spearfishermen the world over.

1980

• 1980 – Cressi’s first subsiadiary is born in Nice, France.
• 1983 – Galaxie regulators – The Cressi range of regulators was renewed with the introduction of the Galaxie range, three models suitable to cover every market segment, from beginners to professionals. The spearhead F1 model was fitted with an injection system that brought performance levels up to their maximum.
• 1987 – Cressi athlete Renzo Mazzarri wins the spearfishing world title in Turkey.
• 1988 – Equipe Jacket – The BC took on the form of a jacket and Cressi immediately presented a refined, strong model that was updated year after year.
• 1988 – Rondine Gara fins – The nylon blade of the now legendary Rondine Gara was replaced by a polypropylene blade; this material provided a far superior elastic response. The already fantastic performance was increased even further.
• 1988 – Apache Arbalète – Cressi produced a complete range of Arbalete spearguns to join the pneumatic guns, called the Apache, which very soon became the Champion speargun in the world.
• 1989 – Cressi athlete Renzo Mazzarri wins the spearfishing world title in Italy.

1990

• 1990 – Cressi continues its international expansion, opening Cressi subsidiaries in the United States and in Spain. Cressi products are by now distributed in over 90 countries world wide.
• 1992 – Cressi athlete Renzo Mazzarri wins the spearfishing world title in Spain. It is the third title won by this incredible champion.
• 1995 -Gara 2000 – The new Gara 2000 replaced the former Rondine Gara. A brand new, patented injection system of three different materials made it possible to obtain ultralight high performance fins. Another Cressi record that is still unbeaten today.
• 1999 – Cressi Athlete Umberto Pelizzari sets the freeping “”No Limits Absolute Variable Weight”” World Record in Portofino (Italy) reaching the depth of 150 meters.
• 1999 – Cressi Athlete Umberto Pelizzari sets the freeping “”Constant Weight”” World Record in Portofino (Italy) reaching the depth of 80 meters.

2000

• 2000 – Big Eyes – Another great Cressi world patent. Big Eyes was the first mask in the world with raked lenses in an upside-down teardrop shape, an innovative form that gives the per a complete view of all the equipment worn. Big Eyes very shortly became the most widely copied and imitated mask in the world, a gratifying appreciation of how far ahead Cressi is in the design of its products.
• 2000 – Computers – A full range of Cressi underwater computers was introduced onto the market in the 2000s. Visor, Archimede, Archimede 2 and Edy. They are all characterised by their extremely user friendly and reliable features.
• 2001 – Cressi Athlete Umberto Pelizzari sets the freeping “”Variable Weight”” World Record in Capri (Italy) reaching the depth of 131 meters.
• 2004 – Ellipse Titanium regulator – The newborn of the Cressi family in the regulators sector is a concentration of high technology, protected by some four world patents. It is small and very lightweight, but its performance places it with the elite in regulators. Another great Cressi record.
• 2004 – Stefano Bellani wins the spearfishing world title in Chile. This is the 12th title won by a Cressi athlete, the company that has won the most spearfishing world titles in history.
• 2005 – Cressi sponsors the Mizar expedition, an underwater expedition created to discover the famous World War II italian cruiser “”Armando Diaz”” which lies in the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea in the Sicilian Channel.
• 2005 – Cressi Swim – Cressi has also made a forceful entry into the sector of swimming equipment and apparel with a very wide range of products to meet all the needs of all swimmers, from the recreational enthusiast to the competitive swimmer.
• 2007 – Cressi sponsors the Altair expedition, an underwater expedition organized in the Tunisian waters, to explore the wreck of the British cruiser “”HMS Manchester”” and to discover the wreck of the italian cruiser “”Da Giussano””.
• 2009 – Big Eyes Evolution – The revolutionary Big Eyes mask now has a successor. A legend evolves, a revolution begins.
• 2013 – Today The Cressi company is still entirely owned by the Cressi family, which carries on, with the same passion as more than 60 years ago, the work started by brothers Nanni and Egidio Cressi.