When was it first popular for people to go and treasure dive?

Question

When was it first popular for people to go and treasure dive? I'm starting to write story that involves that and I'd like to know. Thanks!

Answer 1

Ancient civilizations were "treasure diving" before they had any modern technology: young men would practice holding their breath and swim as deep as possible to pick up oysters (for pearls) or to recover any objects lost to sea.

Scuba gear was gradually developed over the 1st half of the 20th century; it wasn't until the 1950's when Jacques Cousteau popularized it that it became a recreational sport.

See the below Wikipedia timeline for more dates and milestones.