What a golden cast: The art of making Oscar statuettes

ROCK TAVERN, New York -- The famous Oscar statues are made at a workshop in the Hudson Valley region of New York state.

The iconic statuettes have been a symbol of the best in film since 1929.

For the better part of the last decade, they've been made at Urban Art Projects in Orange County.

"As you dig into the process, you'll see that it's something that you can't rush," said Jake Joyce, general manager of Urban Art Projects.

The golden figurines are a labor of love, with countless talented people behind the scenes creating the most famous trophy in entertainment.

"Most everybody here has a part to play," Joyce said.

The process begins with a mold, then a wax copy.

Then from wax to the ceramic shell, 12 layers of coating by hand are added, which take up to a day to dry.

From the the wax Oscar inside the ceramic shell is melted out and replaced with bronze.

The bronze Oscar then heads to the finishing department to get sanded down to fix any imperfections. The statuettes stand 13.5 inches tall and weigh 8.5 pounds.

Every detail is meticulously crafted with immense pride.

Each statue is then sent to EPNER Technology in Brooklyn where they're plated in copper and then nickel plated, and finally, 24-karat gold is applied.

The statuettes make their way back up to UAP for final assembly.

While this workshop is some 3,000 miles away from Hollywood, the Oscar tells two stories of excellence. One of the masters who craft it and the other of the legends who receive it.

"We pour our hearts into this piece. For me to see it at the ceremony, there's no words," a UAP employee said.

"The work here is hard, but everybody does it with a smile on their face," Joyce said.