Osmium had its first important application at the beginning of the 20th century. It was first used in filaments in light sources such as incandescent lamps. Thus, the name of the Osram company is derived from the elements osmium and tungsten (Wolfram in German).

However, the use of osmium also had some disadvantages: it was rare, expensive, difficult to extract and difficult to process because osmium is very brittle and could not be processed into long filaments.

For this reason, osmium was replaced after only a short time, first by tantalum, then by tungsten.

An osmium lamp can be seen in the German Museum in Munich, but also at the German Osmium Institute.

All other applications of osmium as tetraoxide or in metallic form are very, very rare. Today, osmium is usually crystallized to be used in jewelry, art and watches.

It replaces as a so-called Osmavé the diamond carpet. With the price decline in the diamond market, it had become necessary to bring intrinsic value back into the jewelry market. In addition, crystalline osmium is perfect for othe production of soft shapes and sharp edges in jewelry designs.

It is impossible to imagine the tangible asset market without crystalline osmium as the sole counterfeit-proof metal and it is becoming increasingly popular as a tangible asset around the globe.

In 1804, the British chemist Smithson Tennant discovered the element osmium together with iridium. This happened while examining the insoluble residues of platinum ores that had previously been dissolved in aqua regia.

Because the osmium oxide smelled extremely pungent and chlorine-like, Tennant named it after the Greek term for odor, "osme." The present-day symbol Os was given to osmium in 1814 by Jöns Jakob Berzelius.

The picture of Tennant circulating on the Internet, could represent a relative of his. The origin of the image could not be proven for sure.

The annual production since 2019 is about 1000 kg. A significant portion is used for crystallization, the rest is used in the form of osmium compounds internationally in industry and teaching. However, the actual mined quantities are probably still far below the stated values.

A platinum-osmium alloy is a component of pacemakers and artificial heart valves. Furthermore, osmium serves as a catalyst for chemical syntheses, such as dihydroxylation. In outdated websites, one can also still find supposed applications in fountain pen tips and the tips of phonographic needles for record players. Due to keyboards and streaming services, these applications, back in the day useful due the high abrasian resistence of osmium, are nowadays outdated .

Its economic and industrial importance is thus very low.

However, in its non-toxic crystalline form, it has found its way into watch and jewelry production. Crystalline osmium has established itself worldwide as a long-term investment metal. And here it is so popular mainly on the basis of its absolute unfalsifiability. It is certainly worth replacing gold and diamonds in some areas.

Osmium leads the ranking of elemental rarity among the non-radioactive elements by a wide margin. It usually occurs together with platinum. It is also found with ruthenium, palladium and rhodium. In smallest quantities it is associated with nickel and gold.

The main deposits of osmium are in Borneo, Japan, North and South America, Tasmania and the Urals. In general, deposits are divided into primary and secondary. Primaries contain primarily osmium-bearing iron, chromium, copper and nickel ores. The secondary deposits consist of platinum metals combined with osmium. They are the main extraction sites of the sunshine element.

The most common alloys are the naturally occurring iridosmium and osmiridium.