Cressi-Sub
Italian manufacturer of equipment for scuba diving, snorkeling, spearfishing, and swimming.
Last updated October 17, 2026
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Overview
Cressi-Sub, commonly known as Cressi, is an Italian water-sports equipment brand headquartered in Genoa. The company serves four principal markets: scuba diving, snorkeling, spearfishing, and swimming. Its range includes masks, fins, snorkels, regulators, buoyancy compensators, dive computers, wetsuits, freediving and spearfishing equipment, swim goggles, training accessories, bags, and related equipment. The business is family owned and operated, and its Genoa headquarters and manufacturing operations remain closely associated with the place where the company began. The Cressi brothers, Egidio and Nanni, began making masks and spearguns by hand in 1938 for the emerging spearfishing community around the northern Mediterranean. The company was formally founded in 1946. This early connection with spearfishing shaped the brand’s later identity: Cressi became associated not only with recreational diving but also with freediving and competitive spearfishing. Company-sponsored athletes have won 12 world spearfishing titles, according to the referenced company history. Cressi’s product development has covered both incremental improvements and notable category innovations. Its Pinocchio mask, introduced in the early 1950s, was among the first diving masks to provide a dedicated nose pocket, allowing divers to equalize the mask and clear water more easily. The Rondine fin family introduced design features that influenced later diving and freediving fins, while later products such as the Big Eyes mask focused on wider vision and reduced internal volume. Cressi also developed regulators, buoyancy compensators, wetsuits, and other equipment for complete scuba systems rather than concentrating on a single product category. The brand’s swimming and snorkeling activities broadened its customer base beyond certified divers. Cressi introduced the Nuoto swimming-goggle line in the 1950s and subsequently developed recreational and competitive swim products, including goggles, short fins, hand paddles, gloves, caps, and suits. Its snorkeling portfolio includes masks, full-foot and adjustable open-heel fins, and snorkels. In spearfishing and freediving, the range includes pneumatic and band-powered spearguns, low-volume masks, long fins, reels, shafts, camouflage suits, and accessories. Cressi has retained significant in-house manufacturing and engineering capabilities in Genoa. The referenced material describes more than 16,000 square meters of covered production and design space, together with testing equipment for regulators, multi-material molding capabilities, and expanded electronics manufacturing. The company developed the Leonardo dive computer as a product designed and built internally. Its manufacturing model is presented as a way to maintain quality control and preserve direct oversight of product development. Today, Cressi is described as supplying approximately 300 products to more than 90 countries and as maintaining a presence in major economic regions worldwide. The business continues to position itself as a broad, technically oriented water-sports specialist, combining a long Italian diving heritage with equipment for recreational users, professionals, athletes, and travel-oriented customers. Formerly styled Cressi-Sub, the brand generally uses the shorter Cressi name in commercial contexts. Cressi is an Italian manufacturer of diving equipment, founded in 1946 by Egidio Cressi, offering masks, snorkels, fins, dive computers, and more.
History
Cressi’s roots predate its formal establishment. Egidio and Nanni Cressi began producing masks and spearguns by hand in 1938, responding to the growth of spearfishing along the northern Mediterranean coast. The brothers formally founded the company in Genoa in 1946. Genoa’s location gave the business access to an active maritime culture, nearby diving waters, and a regional network of manufacturers and designers that contributed to the development of modern diving equipment. During its early decades, Cressi became particularly identified with masks and fins. The Sirena mask, introduced in 1943 according to the referenced product chronology, remained in the range for approximately three decades. The Pinocchio mask followed in 1952 and used a dedicated nose pocket, an important practical feature for equalization and mask clearing. The Rondine fin, introduced in 1953, combined a tilted blade, reinforcing elements, and a toe opening. Its basic design language continued to influence later Cressi fins, including long-blade models used in freediving and spearfishing. Cressi expanded from basic equipment into the broader scuba system. The Polaris 4 regulator appeared in 1965, followed by the reduced-volume Pinocchio Vi. Erre mask in 1967. The Rondine L long fin of 1970 was associated with freediving and spearfishing and was used by Jacques Mayol during record-setting freediving activities. In 1979, the Rondine Gara introduced nylon into a long-fin design. Later regulator development included the Galaxie F1 in 1983 and the Ellipse family in 2004, while the Equidive buoyancy compensator of 1988 and later travel-oriented BCDs expanded the company’s buoyancy-equipment offering. Swimming became a significant adjacent market. Cressi introduced the Nuoto swimming-goggle line in the 1950s and later developed a broader range for recreational and competitive swimmers. Snorkeling products similarly extended the company’s expertise in masks and fins to casual users and travelers. The company’s divewear division added wetsuits, dive skins, rash guards, specialist freediving garments, camouflage spearfishing suits, and bags. In the 2000s and 2010s, product development emphasized field of vision, portability, materials, and integration. The Big Eyes mask, introduced in 2000, used a tear-drop lens configuration and a raked lens position to increase viewing area while reducing internal volume. The Flex-in-the-Sea BCD, introduced in 2008, addressed the European market for lighter travel equipment. Palau SAF and Action short fins followed in 2009, while the Air Travel BCD in 2010 focused on compact storage for air travel. The XS Compact regulator family and Crystal Silicone mask material were introduced in 2011. Cressi also expanded into electronics. The Leonardo dive computer was described as the first dive computer fully designed and manufactured by the company, reflecting a move beyond mechanical and molded equipment into internally developed electronic products. Its Genoa facilities reportedly include regulator test machines, multi-material molding technology, and electronics production capabilities. The company states that much of its product range is designed and manufactured at its own facilities rather than being broadly outsourced. The business remains family owned and headquartered in Genoa, with Antonio Cressi identified as its current head. The modern Cressi operation covers four major markets and supplies roughly 300 products to more than 90 countries. Its long-term strategy has been to maintain a comprehensive product portfolio, from swimming goggles and snorkeling fins to regulators, buoyancy compensators, dive computers, and specialized spearfishing equipment. The company also uses the Aer-Sub and Spiro-Sub names as trademarks.
- 2011
XS Compact regulators and Crystal Silicone
[1]Cressi introduced compact regulator designs and used Crystal Silicone in selected masks to improve transparency and resistance to discoloration.
- 2010
Air Travel BCD
[1]The Air Travel BCD was designed to fold into a compact form suitable for airline travel.
- 2008
Flex-in-the-Sea BCD
[1]Cressi introduced a lightweight travel-oriented buoyancy compensator to the European market.
- 2000
Big Eyes mask
[1]The Big Eyes mask used a tear-drop lens and angled placement to improve field of view and reduce internal volume.
- 1979
Rondine Gara long fin
[1]The Rondine Gara brought nylon into Cressi’s long-fin designs for freediving and spearfishing.
- 1965
Polaris 4 regulator
[1]Cressi introduced the Polaris 4 regulator, known in the referenced material for its piston first stage and metal second stage.
- 1953
Rondine fins introduced
[1]The Rondine fin used a tilted blade and structural reinforcements that became influential in later fin designs.
- 1952
Pinocchio mask introduced
[1]Cressi introduced a diving mask with a dedicated nose pocket for equalization and clearing.
- 1946
Company founded in Genoa
[1]The Cressi brothers formally established the company in Genoa, Italy.
- 1938
Early handmade production
[1]Egidio and Nanni Cressi began hand-producing masks and spearguns for the emerging Mediterranean spearfishing community.
Products and positioning
A technically oriented, vertically integrated Italian water-sports specialist serving recreational, competitive, and professional users across diving, snorkeling, spearfishing, freediving, and swimming.
Scuba diving
Scuba diving equipment
Cressi’s scuba range covers masks, fins, snorkels, regulators, buoyancy compensators, dive computers, and accessories. The company has developed both mechanical and electronic equipment, with the Leonardo presented as its first dive computer designed and manufactured entirely by Cressi. Its regulator and BCD history includes the Polaris 4, Galaxie F1, Ellipse, Equidive, Flex-in-the-Sea, and Air Travel lines.
Diving, snorkeling, and swimming eyewear · 1943
Masks and goggles
Eyewear is one of Cressi’s foundational categories. Notable designs include the Sirena, Pinocchio, Pinocchio Vi. Erre, and Big Eyes masks. The company also sells swimming goggles for recreational and competitive users, with children’s and adult styles. The referenced range emphasizes glass lenses and silicone skirts or seals across many diving and snorkeling models.
Diving, snorkeling, freediving, and swimming · 1953
Fins
Cressi produces full-foot and open-heel fins, long freediving fins, compact travel fins, and short training fins. The Rondine family established a long-running design tradition, while Rondine L and Rondine Gara were oriented toward freediving and spearfishing. Palau SAF and Action short fins target snorkeling and other water sports and use adjustable open-heel foot pockets.
Spearfishing and freediving · 1938
Spearfishing and freediving equipment
This category reflects Cressi’s earliest sporting heritage. The range includes pneumatic and band-powered spearguns, low-volume masks, long fins, reels, shafts, camouflage suits, and other accessories. The company has maintained a long association with competitive spearfishing, and its sponsored athletes have won 12 world titles according to the referenced company history.
Divewear and accessories
Divesuits and bags
Cressi’s divewear division includes wetsuits, dive skins, rash guards, freediving garments, and camouflage suits for spearfishing. The company also offers bags and luggage accessories for diving and general water-sports use, including products designed around the needs of traveling divers.
Recent events
Cressi launches “I’m Okay” GIFs[2]
Reported:
Cressi introduced GIFs for people to share that they are okay and preparing to return to the water.
Sources2 sources
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