<Dl> <Dd> See also § Awards of Merit categories (below) </Dd> </Dl> <Dd> See also § Awards of Merit categories (below) </Dd> <P> The best known award is the Academy Award of Merit, more popularly known as the Oscar statuette . Made of gold - plated bronze on a black metal base, it is 13.5 in (34.3 cm) tall, weighs 8.5 lb (3.856 kg), and depicts a knight rendered in Art Deco style holding a crusader's sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes . The five spokes represent the original branches of the Academy: Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers, and Technicians . </P> <P> The model for the statuette is said to be Mexican actor Emilio "El Indio" Fernández . Sculptor George Stanley (who also did the Muse Fountain at the Hollywood Bowl) sculpted Cedric Gibbons' design . The statuettes presented at the initial ceremonies were gold - plated solid bronze . Within a few years the bronze was abandoned in favor of Britannia metal, a pewter - like alloy which is then plated in copper, nickel silver, and finally, 24 - karat gold . Due to a metal shortage during World War II, Oscars were made of painted plaster for three years . Following the war, the Academy invited recipients to redeem the plaster figures for gold - plated metal ones . The only addition to the Oscar since it was created is a minor streamlining of the base . The original Oscar mold was cast in 1928 at the C.W. Shumway & Sons Foundry in Batavia, Illinois, which also contributed to casting the molds for the Vince Lombardi Trophy and Emmy Award's statuettes . From 1983 to 2015, approximately 50 Oscars in a tin alloy with gold plating were made each year in Chicago by Illinois manufacturer R.S. Owens & Company . It takes between three and four weeks to manufacture 50 statuettes . In 2016, the Academy returned to bronze as the core metal of the statuettes, handing manufacturing duties to Walden, New York - based Polich Tallix Fine Art Foundry . While based on a digital scan of an original 1929 Oscar, the statuettes retain their modern - era dimensions and black pedestal . Cast in liquid bronze from 3D - printed ceramic molds and polished, they are then electroplated in 24 - karat gold by Brooklyn, New York--based Epner Technology . The time required to produce 50 such statuettes is roughly three months . R.S. Owens is expected to continue producing other awards for the Academy and service existing Oscars that need replating . </P>

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