Making The Oscar Statues (15 Pictures)

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The Oscars will be presented at the Academy Awards ceremony in LA on March 7. The gold statuette the winners receive are made a year in advance by Chicago-based manufacturer R.S. Owens.

The process of making each $18,000, 13-and-a-half-inch, 8-and-a-half-pound statuette begins with casting a mold. The mold is cast using a combination of tin, copper and antimony that’s the highest grade of pewter available.

Once cast, the statuette is sanded down and polished until there are no flaws then it’s electroplated with four different finishes: copper, nickel, silver and a heavy layer of 24-carat gold.

Once the plating is completed, the Oscar figure is screwed onto its metal base. Each statuette also is numbered. The academy began numbering statuettes in 1949, starting with No. 501.

It takes about a week-and-a-half to create each statuette and the gallery below takes you through all the steps and processes.

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