Industry pioneer Jacuzzi is marking its 60th anniversary with a variety of promotions, celebratory displays honoring the company’s history, and a special-edition commemorative product.

Earlier this summer, the Chino Hills, Calif.-based firm offered the biggest consumer spa rebate in its history — up to $1,956, in a nod to Jacuzzi’s founding year. Online giveaways of products such as spa towels also helped commemorate the milestone, said Anne-Marie Nealy, Jacuzzi group marketing manager, brand.

And a spa model is coming out that bears a special 60th anniversary emblem. Nealy said it’s part of the existing line, offered for a limited time only, and must be pre-ordered.

Across the pond, Jacuzzi UK and British dealers promoted the anniversary in showrooms and at events such as the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, said to be the world’s largest annual flower show. A large display of Jacuzzi spas was set up in a specially landscaped garden and, according to the local press, former British track star and Olympic gold medalist Linford Christie posed for photos beside one of the company’s signature hot tubs.

Candido Jacuzzi (standing) and his brothers created this hydrotherapy pump to help alleviate the rheumatoid arthritis of his son, Ken (seated).
Candido Jacuzzi (standing) and his brothers created this hydrotherapy pump to help alleviate the rheumatoid arthritis of his son, Ken (seated).

Back in the States, another side of the business — Jacuzzi Luxury Bath — also marked the occasion. Besides hosting special events at bath dealerships, it exhibited at a trade show for designers and architects in Atlanta this summer, and also held an event at the Jacuzzi Family Winery in Sonoma, Calif.

Finally, a museum installation honored the company’s place in history. The brand-new Italian American Museum of Los Angeles, which opened in August, recognized the Jacuzzi family’s accomplishments by showing the earliest version of Jacuzzi’s hydrotherapy pump, the J-300, among other museum artifacts.

Jacuzzi’s hydrotherapy pump is said to be the first of its kind for home whirlpool hydrotherapy. The original J-300 model was invented in the 1950s to help 2-year-old Ken Jacuzzi, who suffered severe pain from rheumatoid arthritis. Later, the pump was incorporated into the Jacuzzi whirlpool bath, which gained national recognition when it was featured as a prize giveaway on the hit 1950s and ’60s TV game show “Queen for a Day.”

Other innovations came throughout the years, such as the first family-sized spa with heating and filtration, in 1970.