Icons Skywalker Gold Plated Lightsaber

This extremely limited edition was manufactured under James Latta’s personal direction, at the time Vice President of Icons. 

In the fall of 1997, ten unassembled Skywalker lightsabers were sent to Icons metal plater in Burbank, California and dipped in gold-plating. James Latta then had Sergio Perez, the Icons lightsaber production line supervisor, assemble one test sample of the edition #1, which he presented to him. 

JL intended to present these as gifts to George Lucas, the executives and licensing staff at Lucasfilm LTD. to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Star Wars.  With the politics surrounding Icons in late 1997 early 1998, and the resignation of its President/CEO Doug Conway, as the succeeding President/CEO in March of 1998, JL made the choice not to present the gold lightsabers to Lucasfilm.

He then intended to give the gold lightsabers to the remaining executives and managers of Icons. With the closure of the company, JL kept the first edition (#1) of the 10 editions as a keepsake and gave the other 9 pieces to Mike Rogers, the Vice chairman of Icons and a principle investor. Mike Rogers has only sold the other 8 or 9 units. 

Mine came from another Icons investor/founder, David Elkouby. 

The  Icons Skywalker lightsaber was the very first Licensed Prop Replica ever offered, and this Icons Gold lightsaber is the most exclusive of these. Also, this was the first gold-plated lightsaber replica produced - by the first company licensed to make movie prop replicas.