Facts About The Oscars Statuettes: Who Makes It & What the Academy Awards Trophy Holding In Its Hands
The 95th Academy Awards will be held at Theater Dolby in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 12. Check out the complete facts about the Oscars statuettes.
The Oscars were first presented in 1929,. Since then, more than 3,000 statuettes are handed to actors, directors, composers and cinematographers. The famous statuette was designed in 1927.
Since 2016, The ceremony's statuettes have been produced every year by Polich Tallix in New York, a fine art foundry. It involves several steps and is now much more modern.
A 3D printer in wax first creates the statuette figure. Each one is then coated with a ceramic shell once it has cooled. After drying for a few weeks, the statue can be fired at 1,600°F to melt the wax, creating a hollow Oscar-shaped form.
Next, the figure is poured into liquid bronze and then cooled, sanded, and polished. The statuettes are then electroplated with 24-karat gold in Brooklyn by Epner Technology Inc. The whole process takes approximately three months.
An Oscar statuette is a symbol for prestige.The truth is, the trophy isn't very valuable. The trophy is estimated to cost around $400 to make. The Academy has strict rules and prohibits the sale of the trophy, except to the Academy itself for $1,00.
Each Oscar is 13.5 inches high and weighs in at 8.5 pounds. It depicts a knight holding two swords with both hands. There are 23 Oscar categories. However, 50 statues are made each year to be ready for the event.