Jurgensen Dynasty: Four Centuries of Watchmaking in Two Countries

John M.R. Knudsen has always taken a keen interest in all aspects of historic mechanical technologies such as that found in vintage cars, steam locomotives, watermills and all types of clocks and watches. He spent several decades of painstaking research that resulted in the Danish publication (1988) of the only major work on the Jurgensen family of watchmakers, now in an updated and extended English version represented in this new edition. Dr. Helmut Crott, born in 1946, became a medical orthopaedic surgeon before he discovered his passion for historical, collector's timepieces. In 1975 he founded the auction house Dr. Crott. From 1975 onwards he held more than 50 major auctions of collectors watches in Frankfurt, Zurich and Hong Kong. Many of those objects are today part of important museum and private collections. After he sold his business in 1993 he became a private consultant and had the chance to build up one of the most important private collections of Patek Philippe watches, in addition to creating one of the most comprehensive databases about Patek Philippe timepieces that exists. Since 1977, Christian Pfeiffer-Belli became very well known in the field of horology with his founding of the collector's magazine Klassik Uhren. In addition he has been responsible for the publishing of a vast number of important horological books of all kinds.