CHICAGO — A Chicago-based company that has made Oscar statuettes since 1982 has lost the contract to produce the iconic trophies.

R.S. Owens — which employs 175 workers at an 82,000-square-foot facility — has been replaced by a New York rival, Polich Tallix Fine Art Foundry.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the decision Tuesday afternoon, explaining that the switch is motivated by a desire to go back to the original Oscar statuette design from 1929.

R.S. Owens design director Joseph Petree described the switch as a “sad day” for the company but said it had been “very fortunate to be involved with the academy for so long.”

Polich will use a lost wax process to make a 24-karat gold-finished bronze statuette based on a digital scan of a 1929 trophy, which was based on sketches by MGM art director Cedric Gibbons.