Masterchef Served Up Some Tasty Rolex Watches

Masterchef wrapped up its ninth season last week with a two-part season finale on FOX. Don’t worry, we won’t mention who won in case you haven’t seen it yet. The massively popular food competition show hosted by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay also included famed chef Aaron Sanchez and successful restaurateur Joe Bastianich as judges this season. In a new format, the three judges competed against each other with a team of home cook mentees. Naturally, the focus of the show is food. However, we couldn’t help but spot some tasty Rolex watches making an appearance on Masterchef too.

Gordon Ramsay’s Rolex on Masterchef

While Gordon Ramsay has been spotted wearing a variety of Rolex watches in the past including a white gold Submariner, a steel Submariner with a ceramic bezel, and an Everose Yacht-Master 40 with an Oysterflex bracelet, for this season of Masterchef, the Michelin-starred chef stuck to one Rolex watch.

It was a vintage Submariner ref. 1680 with a date window and Cyclops lens on the acrylic crystal, which he fitted with a leather NATO-style leather band. The Submariner ref. 1680 was in fact the first Submariner to include the date feature—making it an important reference in Rolex’s history. Rolex produced the Submariner ref. 1680 from 1966 until 1981, when it was replaced with the sapphire-crystal topped and quickset Submariner ref. 16800.

Joe Bastianich’s Rolex on Masterchef

Not to be outdone by his fellow Masterchef judge, Joe Bastianich also wore an impressive Rolex watch. His choice for the Masterchef finale was the Rolex GMT-Master II ref. 16710 with the famous black and red “Coke” bezel.

Rolex manufactured the GMT-Master II ref. 16710 from 1989 until 2007, and aside from the “Coke” bezel, it was also available with a blue and red “Pepsi” bezel and a monochrome black bezel too. This particular reference however, is the last GMT-Master II model that offered the black and red bezel as Rolex no longer offers that as an option in their current GMT-Master II lineup.

The GMT-Master II “Coke” is far from Joe Bastinaich’s only Rolex watch. We’ve seen the prolific businessman wearing several Daytona chronographs, a two-tone Submariner on a NATO-strap, and a steel and ceramic Submariner too.

It’s always fun spotting Rolex watches worn by famous people on television, but it’s even more satisfying when celebrities are wearing cool vintage Submariners and older GMT-Master II models. It goes to show that most discontinued Rolex watches look as great today as they did when they first launched. That’s the power of timeless design. For a look at more popular preowned Rolex watches