The St.Petersburg Centre of Watch & Clock Restoration

It took the master 20 years to make the unique astronomic clock. The complicated mechanism of the clock, designed and made by the skilled mechanic in 1775 contained hour and minutes indicator, showed the sunrise and sunset time, the Moon phases, years, months, date. Besides that, Kuznetzov, inserted in his clock a calendar with the name saints ("svyatzi") - a calendar for each day, and also a mechanism provided with its own belt drive and depicting an operating model of a metal plant, where a small bronze master was working in a shop forging metal. The music of a small organ accompanied his actions - 6 melodies could be played. The figurine of the smith started moving when the model was switched on – "the smith took the smelted piece of metal from the forge, takes it to the sledge-hammer uses the anvil and hammer and after this goes back to the forge". This astronomic clock is still can be seen in Nijniy Tagil museum-reserve.

The peak of Egor Grigorievich’s creative work, his second masterpiece - mechanic rarity - was musical small carriage ("drojki"), which is on display at the State Hermitage. Due to the serf painter Sidor Dubasnikov who made the ornamentation over the carriage we got the portrait of Kuznetzov. Here is the description by M. S. Shaginyan of the portrait of Kuznetsov-Zhepinskiy: "The old man is posing with his back erect and looking cheerfully, there is not a trace of humiliation in his face with noble features of a Siberian resident, with an aquiline nose, a searching look..."

In 1803 the 76-year old inventor headed for Moscow in his small carriage to the coronation ceremony of Alexander I and presented it to the new Empress, his wife. To show his gratitude The tzar freed him and all the family from serfdom in 1804.