Mathiesen was born in 1696 in Dollerup, Grumtoft Parish, Schleswig-Holstein.
It is not known where he was trained as a clockmaker but Gottorp was an important centre for artists and artisans at the time.
He was later by the crown charged with maintaining two large clockworks at the royal palaces.
[1] The Karen Blixen museum at Rungstedlund contains a Peter Mathiesen longcase clock.
[4] This biographical article about a Danish engineer, inventor or industrial designer is a stub.