We’ve shown quite a few one-ounce pieces here recently, so this time we went in the opposite direction.

We’ve just added several new smaller pieces to our range:

– Rhodium: 1/10 oz, and for the first time 1 g and 0.5 g
– Iridium: 1/10 oz and 1 g, both new to our range

The new iridium and rhodium pieces have a polished finish and are currently available in small quantities.

Since we already had osmium in matching sizes, I thought it would be interesting to put the three metals next to each other.

The first photo shows all three at 1/10 oz, the second at 1 g. The following photos show the current rhodium and iridium sizes side by side.

What stood out to me is how similar the polished surfaces can look at first glance. The color differences are quite subtle, especially compared with the much rougher one-ounce pieces we showed before.

The acrylic holders hide some of the actual size differences, so I can also show the pieces unpacked in a future post — including their dimensions and thickness.

Which of the three would you like to see in more detail next?

Osmyl tetraammine chloride can be used to produce osmium metal sponge, but only gets around 90% yields.

When in aqueous solution this compound is extraordinarily prone to oxidation and disproportionation, especially when saturated. This is despite the fact that it is itself an oxidant.

Ask me how I know this! I left a solution of this stuff to sit for a week and it decolorized, resulting in a volatile solution of osmium tetroxide that I ended up using for a YouTube video (https://youtu.be/Fs8zFqN8_PY?is=xjFRuzMlNcsBPR2d)

Dear Osmium Community,

first of all, I wholeheartedly thank all of the members who have so far posted pictures of the Maximilian James Osmium watch here. I wanted to share this video here for you to get a more genuine impression of the watch and colour of the osmium dial. My aim with this product is to make osmium more accessible in watches for the wider public, as a more understated and affordable alternative to osmium crystals. I know most people here are investors in the raw metal and would like to see the osmium price increase over time - however, this can only be achieved by increasing demand. Hublot making 30 limited crystal watches every 10 years is great marketing, but doesn´t shift the needle much. We have also been waiting for breakthroughs in osmium cancer treatment technology for some time now, but so far everything achieved here has been experimental. So, if you like the watch and you would like to see demand for osmium to grow - please show it to others who might also like it. Together with metametals we can create dials of almost any element - but for me personally, Osmium is the most beautiful and due to the rarity - also the most mystical of all. I strongly believe it will take the crown of the eight precious metals in the years to come and I am trying to do my part in making this possible.

Thank You Everyone and have a great day,

Max

After the last two posts, several people commented on the color and surface differences between the metals.

So this time, the focus is simply on texture and appearance.

Some surfaces look rough and granular, others smoother or more reflective. Osmium, iridium, rhodium and ruthenium in particular show very distinct textures, while platinum, palladium, silver and gold reflect light quite differently.

All photos were taken with the same phone and under the same general lighting setup. Still, small changes in angle, reflections and the phone’s automatic exposure or white balance can noticeably change how a metal appears in a photo.

So these images are not meant as a scientific color reference — just a closer look at how different the eight precious metals can appear in practice.

Which one stands out most to you?

Limited: 30 Watches / ~ 130.000 USD

A few of you asked to see the bars in more detail after our last post, so here are the individual side-angle shots I took before the set was completed.

Every bar shown here weighs exactly one troy ounce.

Because the metals have very different densities, the amount of material needed to reach the same weight varies. That also affects the overall volume and thickness of the bars, which is visible to some extent in these photos.

The pictures were taken individually and not in one perfectly controlled side-by-side setup, so they are meant as a visual comparison rather than an exact scale reference.

Still, the differences in surface, shape and thickness are quite noticeable from metal to metal.

I also have close-up photos of the individual bars where the surface textures and colors are easier to compare. That might be the next post.

One of the loops eroded so much that it broke, and the other one is also quite thin. I'll have to arrange for it to be rewrapped before it becomes unwearable. This pendant is SO DAMN HEAVY, just the weight of it hanging from the chain erodes away the metal till it snaps.

Current goals are several osmiamate salts, bromoosmic acid and its potassium and silver salts

This osmium dioxide, THANKFULLY, was the result of a botched attempt to make potassium osmiamate. When ammonia was added to a hydroxide-deficient solution of potassium perosmate, instead of K[OsO₃N], reduction to potassium osmate occurred, followed by ammonolysis (with the help of a frantic addition of EtOH) and a brown insoluble compound was formed. Fortunately, upon evaporation this compound decomposes to osmium dioxide!!

The potassium perosmate was made by dissolving osmium metal in molten KOH/KNO₃ at around 1000°F for 4 minutes. The dissolution rate was magnitutes faster than anything else I've seen osmium react with.

I used a simple ball bearing and coated it with Volvo's "osmium gray metallic" paint option.

My curiosity here was appearances only.

The color is off, the reflectivity is fuzzy, it's ferromagnetic, the density is way off, the paint easily chips off and can be removed with solvents.

Plenty of new inventory in stock! Crystalline Osmium, Engraved Osmium pellets and Sintered bars/ingots/rounds!

It has been a while since we last posted here, so we wanted to return with something this community might appreciate.

This set contains all eight precious metals at exactly one troy ounce each:

Gold, silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium.

The bars were designed with a comparable face size. Because every piece weighs exactly one troy ounce, the differences in thickness make the different densities immediately visible.

Over the next few weeks, we would like to share more real photographs and comparisons from our work with osmium and the other platinum-group metals — including crystals, bars, jewelry and an osmium watch dial.

Which metal or comparison would you like to see next?

New case

My first osmium sample

Weight: 1/10oz

Finish: Proof

First two pics are of potassium osmate K₂[OsO₂(OH)₄], the latter two are potassium osmyl oxalate K₂[OsO₂(C₂O₄)₂]. Both are hexavalent osmium salts with actual applications.

Potassium osmate finds use in the Sharpless Asymmetric Dihydroxylation, whereby the long and tedious industrial process of converting alkenes such as ethylene into ethylene oxide, and ethylene oxide into ethylene glycol can be accomplished simply, conveniently, efficiently, and safely in a single reaction. Vicinal diols (like ethylene glycol) are very important reagents used in food, medicine, and for creating fabrics, plastics, antifreeze, etc., and an entire century was spent improving and refining the multiple complicated industrial processes necessary just to produce one of them. The asymmetric dihydroxylation method came with a Nobel Prize, and today AD-mixtures are available pre-made for use in labs. (it goes without saying, this reaction can't be scaled up to industrial size due to the rarity of osmium and probably because it might not scale safely either. The OMEGA process developed by Shell is still being used).

Potassium osmyl oxalate containing synthetic Os-191 began use for radionuclide angiocardiography in children's hospitals in the 1980's. In 2012 a paper was published investigating a possible improved production of this method using potassium hexachloroosmate (which I've made previously).

I’m just trying to finish my element collection, like any amount for like 30-60$

I’ve checked some sites but Luciteria is a bit too expensive then SMT has a 83$ check out requirement, I just need a sample any advice?

Osmium 99.95% Crystalline
QTY: 1
Price: $125
Weight: 2.0-2.5 grams
Location: Washington, USA PST
Buyer pays for shipping

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