George Calombaris — watch collection

About George Calombaris’s watch collection

George Calombaris is one of Australia's most recognised chefs, best known as a longtime judge on MasterChef Australia, the cooking competition that reshaped food television across the country. Born in Melbourne to Greek-Cypriot parents, Calombaris built his reputation through a deep commitment to Greek cuisine and modern technique, opening a string of restaurants under the Made Establishment group, including the celebrated Press Club. He earned a chef's hat across multiple venues and became a household name through eleven seasons on MasterChef, where his role alongside Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston made him one of the most visible culinary figures in Australian broadcasting history.

Off the kitchen pass, Calombaris has shown a clear preference for watches with genuine historical grounding. The standout piece in the George Calombaris watch collection is a bronze Zenith Pilot Type 20 Extra Special, spotted on his wrist during Season 11 of MasterChef Australia when guest judge Nigella Lawson joined the panel. He wore it against a casual grey V-neck — a pairing that made the watch's 48mm bronze case look all the more deliberate. The Pilot Type 20 Extra Special draws directly from the oversized cockpit instrument clocks Zenith produced for the French Air Force in the 1930s, and the bronze variant adds a patina dimension that means every example ages differently over time.

The choice of a large-format aviation watch in aged bronze says something concrete about where Calombaris's horological instincts sit. He is not reaching for dress watches or jewellery-adjacent pieces — he is drawn to utilitarian design with documented heritage, the kind of watch that functions as an object of interest without needing a formal occasion to justify it. For a chef whose public identity is rooted in craft and history, the Zenith is a coherent choice rather than an incidental one.