Strizhkov, Filipp Vasilevich

Born 1769 at the former Suzun Zavod, in what is now Novosibirsk Oblast; died May 8 (20), 1811, in Zmeinogorsk, in what is now Altai Krai. Russian inventor; specialist in gem cutting.

The son of a craftsman, Strizhkov was a student, apprentice, and master at the Loktevka Gem-cutting Mill in the Altai in the years 1786–99. In 1798 he completed the design for the Kolyvan” Gem-cutting Factory, overseeing the construction of the factory in 1801 and 1802 and then directing operations there until 1811. Strizhkov developed universal machines for the production of artistic pieces from irregularly shaped blocks of stone (1793), as well as machines for the simultaneous grinding and polishing of the internal and external surfaces of stone items (1802) and for the turning of oval figures from wood, bone, metal, and stone (1803). After long experimentation, he replaced imported emery with a local abrasive material.

Strizhkov developed the process for cutting fissured and multi-laminar stones. A series of unique items fashioned from gem-stones now in the Hermitage in Leningrad was made under his supervision.