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Tasks of the institute
The "Osmium-Institut zur Inverkehrbringung und Zertifizierung für Osmium GmbH" (Osmium Institute for the Marketing and Certification of Osmium) was established to ensure uniform handling in trade and processing of crystalline osmium as a jewelry metal and investment metal, and to ensure adherence to these quidelines to customers in accordance with the extended ESG-M guidelines.
The headquarters in Germany operates a state-of-the-art department for material analysis based on laser-induced plasma spectroscopy. Institutes abroad support local dealers and customers through certification and re-certification. Institutes abroad are subject to the guideline competence of the German Institute.
All tasks are carried out by teams of experts who inform dealers, train processors, perform analysis and are available as contact persons. The Osmium World Database is operated, secured and populated in Germany. This is done in cooperation with the authorities of the USA, Canada, Australia and the UAE as well as the EU in accordance with the jointly developed US rulings on the equalization of international customs procedures with crystalline osmium.
For private trade, the Osmium Institute provides appraisers who confirm the authenticity of crystalline osmium in case of doubt, verify previously issued Osmium Identification Codes, and issue Owner Change Codes to owners.
Osmium institutes are represented internationally and thus become a regional point of contact, available in each country's language for online services, press and TV to provide information about osmium and its use.
In addition to the active exchange with media, research reports, information collections, reference collections for literature, thematic studies, reference books, new websites and up-to-date FAQ lists are published at regular intervals.
The daily work of the institutes serves to enable a transparent market under internationally recognized and used criteria and complete as well as guaranteed counterfeit protection.
The hotline of the institutes is operated in several languages and answers questions about all scientific and economic topics concerning crystalline osmium.
Import
The osmium value chain begins at the mines in the osmium mining countries. Precious metal refineries further process the ores into fine osmium with a quality between 3N and 4N, i.e. 99.9 percent to 99.99 percent. Thanks to the work of the osmium institutes and the increasing demand for osmium, it has been possible to filter and purify the resulting flue gases today in order to recover residual osmium and minimize the impact on nature, which was not the case in the past of refining precious metals.
Osmium, after refining, is exported to Switzerland and is highly purified locally by specialized companies to exceptional grades of 9N to 11N. Osmium is exclusively refined in Geneva, Switzerland, into the only form suitable for jewelry and investment in kind: plane, homogeneous crystallization. Currently, harvest rates of up to 8 percent are achieved in crystallization even with investor disks up to 9.5 cm in diameter. The remaining 92 percent are returned to the process and, at great expense, are again highly purified and recrystallized.
After crystallization, the resulting semi-finished products are exported to Germany. In the Osmium-Analysis Laboratory of the Osmium Institute in Murnau, quality assurance and inspection of the incoming goods are carried out under Keyence high-performance microscopes. Defects such as spikes, nanoholes, spherical deformation and differences in layer thickness lead to the rejection of the goods and their return to crystallization.
Perfect material is now sorted into one of the sparkle grades 1-5 in the sparkle grade system and the semi-finished products are cut into discs and bars using a laser, and into specific shapes and jewelry inlays using the wire erosion process with the highest precision.
Discs and bars enter the tangible asset market. Cut shapes are collected by tangible investors, inlays are produced for the jewelry, watch, and art markets.
All shapes are analyzed and measured after production. Once approved by the laboratory, pieces are scanned at a nanometer level. The resulting data are stored as 2D HDR images and 3D false color graphics in the Osmium World Database and each piece is assigned an Osmium Identification Code.
Purity, weight and structure are confirmed to each customer in their OIC associated online certificate.
Certification
In the process of certification the following steps are performed:
1.) Authenticity check of the material and registration of the origin.
2) Weighing of all pieces to thousandths of a gram.
3) High resolution 2D HDR scan and 3D height scan of the crystal structure
4.) Assignment of the Osmium Identification Code according to the US-Rulings
5) Entry and upload of all data into the Osmium World Database
6) Release of the piece for trade
7) Backup of the offline database, provision in the online databases
8.) Creation and provision of the online certificate of authenticity
9.) Shipment of goods to the state institute partner and delivering specialized dealers.
The certification of authenticity does not cause any costs when the goods are put on the market.
Certification in case of private resale is subject to costs, unless the verification of authenticity via the Osmium World Database is made independently. The cost of reissuing a certificate is up to a maximum of 70 euros plus VAT.
Chemical analyses of composite materials with which crystalline osmium has been used are also offered by the institutes.
Market introduction
The placing on the market of crystalline osmium concerns all processes from analysis to export via the trade network to the processor or end customer. Osmium institutes are obliged to carry out the placing on the market, but they are not allowed to participate in the trade, as they would have a trade advantage due to their involvement in the process. Exports are carried out to all countries connected to the trade network.
Crystalline osmium, in its flat form suitable for production and as an investment in kind, is marketed internationally exclusively by the Osmium Institutes. The objective is maximum safety coupled with the provision of maximum transparency for trade, industry, manufacturers and end customers.
Qualifying examination for dealers
To ensure that dealers and processors have sufficient expertise in working with osmium, all dealers must undergo training at www.osmium-academy.com. The training courses are offered in various forms. They range from an initial online training course to a full Train the Trainer program.
The associated exams are administered by the Osmium Institute for Marketing and Certification for Osmium. Graduates of the Train the Trainer program are also certified by the Osmium World Council.
Certified resellers are listed on www.osmium.info .
Osmium World Database
The international osmium database includes all pieces of crystallized osmium in circulation. Osmium that has been resold privately is also registered in the database. However, it is not registered by name. When transferred to a new owner, the owner change code is used to document the transfer of ownership.
When crystalline osmium is sold, it is advisable to verify the authenticity of the surfaces by accessing the 2D-HDR scan on the www.osmium-identification-code.com website. If necessary, a new certificate can always be ordered through an osmium institute. A secured secondary market takes place through Osmium-Marketplace.com.
In the database, jewelers and the processing industry can combine several inlays into so-called X-codes. This simplifies search and sale.
In addition, the party issuing the X-code assures the authenticity of any other precious metals and gemstones used. The entire piece can now be identified via the crystalline surface of the embedded osmium.
In the event of loss or theft, osmium pieces can also be reassigned to their disks of origin via an AI. Property can thus be secured and the supply chain is always fully technically mapped.
Osmium-Institut zur Inverkehrbringung und Zertifizierung von Osmium GmbH
Kemmelallee 682418 Murnau am Staffelsee
Germany
Contact
Bruna RodriguesHotline: 7868386174
bruna.fenner@osmium-institute.com
www.osmium-institute.com