I have to start this article by admitting to the fact that despite a general disdain for reality TV, one of my favorite shows is Top Chef. I?ve been watching it since season one, I?ve never missed a season, I have even recently rewatched some of the earlier seasons just for the hell of it. Right now, Season 17 is currently airing, and every week I eagerly await each new episode. Naturally, as a watch guy, I also take notice of the watches the contestants and guests wear. Typically, there isn?t anything too unexpected. A Sub here, a Panerai there, though in the current season chef Kevin Gillespie prominently wears a Tudor Pelagos on a nylon strap, which Hodinkee beat me to the punch on writing up.
But the other week there was a watch that really caught my attention, as it took me some time to figure it out. On the wrist of guest judge and world-famous chef, Jonathan Waxman was a square watch with a bright teal dial… But what was it" Even better than immediately recognizing a watch in a movie or show is when it?s a puzzle that gets revealed slowly. When I saw Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, figuring out the watch Brad Pitt was wearing was like a side-quest just for me. So, during this week?s episode, every time I caught a new angle of the watch, which conveniently had several moments in frame, a bit more info was revealed.
Chef Waxman with a curious watch – image courtesy of Bravo

At one point I determined that it was a chronograph as there wa...