Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The glitter on the central figure at this year's academy awards ceremony has never been so costly.

With gold at an all-time high, the price of each gilded Oscar to be presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Feb. 24 has jumped to a record $500 from $400 last year, academy spokeswoman Teni Melidonian said.

``The skyrocketing price of gold has definitely made things more expensive,'' said Scott Siegel, president of Chicago-based R.S. Owens & Co., which makes the statues.

The 13 1/2-inch Oscar won't be the only piece of glitz at the jewelry-studded event whose value has soared. An ounce of gold rose about 40 percent, reaching $950, in the past year as surging prices of commodities including oil boosted the metal's appeal as a hedge against inflation. While the statuettes are only plated with gold, they can be worth a fortune to their winners, said Kenneth August, a media and entertainment specialist at accounting firm Deloitte & Touche USA LLP.

``How much more they can earn depends on where in their career they are,'' Los Angeles-based August said. ``If they were already at the top of their game, it won't change much. If they're younger, it can be a career-changing event.''

One young winner was Anna Paquin, who was 11 when she won the best supporting actress award for her role in the 1993 movie ``The Piano,'' which had a $7 million budget, according to IMDb.com Inc.'s movie data base. Since then, she has starred in a films including 2006's ``X-Men: The Last Stand,'' which cost $210 million to make.

`Lord of the Rings'

Peter Jackson had directed lower-budget horror movies. The year he received three Oscars for ``The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,'' Jackson began work on ``King Kong,'' which cost $207 million to make, more than double the budget of his earlier projects, according to IMDb's Web site.

The nominees for the 2007 Oscars, to be awarded at the Feb. 24 ceremony, include actors George Clooney, Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchett and Laura Linney.

Though the academy has been giving out awards since 1929, it didn't adopt the name Oscar until 1939. The origins of the name are uncertain, the academy says on its Web site.

``A popular story has been that Academy librarian and eventual executive director Margaret Herrick thought it resembled her uncle Oscar and said so,'' the site says.

Owens began turning out the statuettes 25 years ago, when another Illinois company that had the contract went out of business, said Siegel. At the time, Owens was already producing the television industry's Emmy awards.

Plaster Oscars

``We had a great deal of credibility,'' said Siegel, 60, whose late father, Owen Siegel, founded the company in 1938.

The closely held firm, which has about 160 employees, produces awards, trophies and commemorative plaques, Siegel said. Clients include the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, college football's Sun Bowl and Sugar Bowl, Viacom Inc.'s MTV and the advertising industry's Clio awards.

The 8 1/2-pound Oscar depicts a knight holding a sword and standing atop a reel of film. It is made from pewter that is plated in successive layers of copper, nickel, silver and gold, and then lacquered and buffed. The finished piece is bolted to a 2-inch high black, nickel-coated brass base.

For three years during World War II, when weapons manufacturing caused metals to become scarce, the figures were made of painted plaster.

After the awards ceremony, the prizes are sent back to the factory for plaques bearing the winners' names to be added.

`Leaning Tower of Oscar'

Some awards have been returned for renovation. Actress Geena Davis sent Owens the Oscar she won for her role in the 1988 film ``The Accidental Tourist'' after it was damaged in an earthquake.

``She sent the award back bent,'' Kogan said. ``It was like the leaning tower of Oscar.''

Davis didn't want a new award or even a straightened one -- merely one that was buffed and cleaned, Kogan said.

Since the 1950s, the academy has required all nominees to sign contracts pledging they wouldn't sell the statuettes. In 1955, serial numbers were added to deter forgery, theft and black-market transactions.

``It does happen from time to time; an Oscar will pop up whose origin we're not sure of,'' said Siegel. ``We'll work with the academy to get it off the streets.''

Those Oscars are kept by the academy and sometimes put on display, said Toni Thompson, an academy spokeswoman.

To contact the reporters on this story: Andrew Harris at the federal court in Chicago at aharris16@bloomberg.net; Andy Fixmer in Los Angeles at afixmer@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 22, 2008 00:04 EST